This situation is a double-edged sword, like you mentioned. Definitely, King would have wanted a diverse leader that championed freedom to succeed him in the memorial. BUT, if the replacement wasn't for a noble purpose but cash, then there is a definitely a problem.

As sad as it is, it seems that cash and politics go hand in hand these days......

Sent by Rashid | 8:53 AM ET | 08-06-2007

John,
Diversity is one thing, but if the purpose is indeed based on cash, then shame on them for minimizing Dr. King's greatness and legacy and insulting a competent artist in the process. Time will indeed tell, and tell it must.

Sent by pj of atlanta | 12:41 PM ET | 08-08-2007

John,
I enjoyed the article on Jimi Hendrix. It was very enlightening. However Jimi's birth name was James Marshall Hendrix not Johnny Allen Hendrix. You might want to check your sources on that. I was a teenager in 1970 and I loved his music,and still do. I think The Chambers Brothers came before Hendrix however and they've received little credit as being one of if not the first black "rock" group.

Sent by Owen Hill | 12:10 PM ET | 08-23-2007

Hey John... you're right - things are bent in Washington, DC when it comes to the National Mall site for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. It will be a shame if at the opening people are fussing about who did or didn't do the sculpture. We all want this memorial to be an elegant reminder of Dr. King's efforts. BUT... right now what really smells is the PROCESS for selecting the SCULPTOR OF RECORD. Go to www.thegibsonreport.today.com to see how the original Sculptor of Record (an outstanding sculptor)developed the design for the King statue on the mall. It's seen in all of the material sent out by the King Memorial Foundation people PLUS Ed Dwight made hundreds of copies of his design into mini-models for hundreds of major donors. How do we explain that Dwight's 2005 design shows up in the February 2007 Press Announcement that Lei Yixin is named the Sculptor of Record. Excuse me!!!! Lei apparently took Dwight's design and made a clay model of it. When Ed Dwight saw that design as the then Sculptor of Record he immediately informed the King Memorial Foundation Group that Lei was having difficulty capturing Dr. King. That didn't sit too well at headquarters... so Dwight was told to forget it, two other people of color were assigned to be "Artistic Consultants," and the rest is history - Lei Yixin was formally named the Sculptor or Record. Yet on February 15, 2007 Ed Jackson, the Executive Architect revealed to the audience gathered to see Lei's presentation that he was aware that choosing a Chinese sculptor could be an issue when he said, "Our loyalties must transcend race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective." That's a good fundraising approach, isn't it.
Well having been an Investigative Reporter and a Professor of Social Movements, I can understand why there is concern about the race of the sculptor for Dr. King; it's call the Politics of Identity. But my research shows that because the process for selecting Lei Yixin was flawed there is a conducive environment for protesting the appearance of unfairness. Why the same group that held a competition for designing the site at the National Mall (900 applicants paid $75 each, that's $67,500 for the Foundation)chose not to have a competition for a sculptor to design the central pieces (Stone of Hope & Mountain of Despair)... is a story in itself. It appears the Memorial Foundation people used Ed Dwight and his design but then decided to give the whole job to the subcontractor who was hired to build the statue itself (Lei Yixin). Where's the fairness in that? Furthermore, this certainly suggests that there is a case to be made with the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts and others for a showing of transparency from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project. What do you think? More ont he 9-18-07 New York Fundraiser protest at www.thegibsonreport.today.com

Sent by G.D.Gibson | 6:58 PM ET | 08-24-2007

Two particular 'cultural' stories hit my attention today. One was the protest over King Tut's color in Philadelphia. Which got me thinking about Louis Leakey's 3.6 million year old 'Lucy.' I mean, she could be King Tut's great, great, great grandmother removed n to the hundredth power. What color was Lucy?

Then there was the story about a Chinese sculptor to do the MLK artwork. Made me think about the Asian girl who did the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Maya Lin? If I spelled that right. Something Karmic here. Cause a lot of what Dr. King died over was Vietnam. Long story there. You can sort of parallel Dr. King's stance of the war along with that of Muhammed Ali. And the cabal that assassinated King (and JFK and RFK) were worried about Dr. King's influence on young black men being drafted into the war. Black men who couldn't go to college to get a draft deferment, and all that.

Another irony of all this, I entered the army on the day MLK's body was being carried by mule drawn caisson through downtown Atlanta. Yep, I???m a ???Chuck.??? Which was Vietnam slang for a white soldier. ???Chuck??? was a little different from ???Charley.??? ???Charley??? was slang for Viet Cong. There was all kinds of slang going around in those days. Anyway, I???m sitting there in the induction center. The television set is on. Dr. King???s body is being carried through downtown Atlanta. I???m looking around the room sort of counting the faces of angry young black men. I???m thinking to myself that this army experience is going to bring in a few situations I hadn???t originally counted on. And it did. Some good. Some bad. As I got to learn many truths about whites and blacks living together while cradling M-16s.

Just about two month to the day after MLK was assassinated by those who were promoting the Vietnam War, I???m still in basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. I???m getting up at four in the morning when some guy who has a small radio says aloud, ???Hey, someone just shot Robert Kennedy last night.??? By some guy colored with the name Sirhan Sirhan.

That pretty much was the last vestige that anyone was going into the White House with the intent of ending the Vietnam War.

Okay, now back to the Asian artist doing the MLK thing. Cause it was like here we were at one time, white guys, brown guys, black guys???.I knew this Sioux Indian soldier who had tattooed on his arm ???Custer had it coming.??? And we???re all going out to kill the yellow guy. Or the yellow guy is going to kill us. And an Asian artist is doing the MLK statue. And an Asian female artist did the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Then someone sent me by email this article from Newsweek just a little bit ago. Though you might enjoy the paradox. Fred call aka bigbro

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20227400/site/newsweek/

BeliefWatch: Reincarnate

By Matthew Philips
Newsweek

Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned
Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission.

Sent by fred call | 8:49 PM ET | 08-29-2007

This is just another thought on art and its creator or, the color or nationality of it's creator. Okay, before I go on, I don't know the politics behind the MLK sculpture. I don't even know what designs have been proposed. If the contract has been bought by the Chinese government for 25 million. Of course, I think of Andy Warhol's dilemma when he counted think of something to serigraph. Someone suggested he serigraph something he loved. That would give him incentive. So, Warhol serigraphed money. Warhol was just being honest with his art, I suppose. But these thoughts are basically art oriented. What is art, and all that. Which, admittedly, is a fun debate or discussion. So, without knowing the artists or the designs proposed, I debate art. Because it's fun.

This morning I noticed on NPR web page a profile of Charley Parker. Right away, I thought of Clint Eastwood's directed movie Bird. Sure, I understand Eastwood is a fairly good mean jazz pianist. Not a Charley Parker great, but he supposed to be pretty good. And he's white. Conversely, could Spike Lee make a movie about Elvis? Or the Rolling Stones? Or the man in black: Johnny Cash I'm not sure how much musical ability Spike Lee possesses. Which brings me to the analogy that James Michener wrote about the Alamo without ever having been there, and Gabriel Garcia wrote about cholera without (to my knowledge) every having cholera. You get the drift. If the artist has got talent, that should do the trick.

Now, if you ask me if John Dos Passos could have written Soul on Ice,..okay, probably not. This gets down to the question of what one likes about art: Do you prefer the Francis Scott Key version of the Star Spangled Banner, or the Jimi Hendrix version? Then you get into the Robert Mapplethorpe arena about art: I know what I like, and if it looks like pornography, then it's pornography. But it's artistic pornography, your honor.

Like I said, I personally don't know anything about this Chinese sculptor. How good he is or what not. I like Isamu Noguchi, but that's a different sculpture genre from a life form work. And Noguchi is Japanese. But Noguchi is the kind of artist who can make a sculpture that has debate to it. It's not Currie and Ives.

Something just struck me as odd. What if this Chinese artist puts MLK on a horse, with a sword, like a Union General. I mean he does a solidly beautiful piece of sculpturing. Then you get to arguing the message. Wouldn't that be fun? People would be stopping and saying, "What the .....???" And that would be a solid work of art that didn't have park pigeons on it.

What if the MLK artwork was a black stone wall with white names on it? Okay, given the black experience and interpretation okay, okay. You want to be more original. You don't want to copy the Vietnam Memorial Wall idea. Understood. This is what I was thinking. I was in Chicago when Dr. King marched toward Cicero. In case you don't know the story, Cicero had the reputation of being Al Capone's Town. Which is a way of saying that Cicero has been a syndicate town since the days of the Torrio-Capone Gang. So, Dr. King is leading a contingency of a lot of people of all different colors. Going to Cicero. A syndicate town.

The march route was lined with bottle throwers and such. Yep, those were the days when protest marches got to be fun. As anyone from the Chicago Democratic Convention protest march will tell you. Anyway, the Chicago police were doing what they could to separate the bottle throwers from the marchers. But when Dr. King got to the border of Cicero, the Chicago Police politely took Dr. King aside and gave some advice. Mainly, not even the Chicago Police were going into Cicero. That was just not a place you didn't go if you weren't Italian, Irish or Polish. Not in those days.

Consequently, Dr. King turned the march around for the good of everyone involved. Which, at the time, and to this day, was the move of not a black man. Not a white man. Not a brown man. But a universally smart man for the occasion. Sometimes you got to play the occasion, regardless of the ideology.

If I was a sculpture chosen to do a MLK memorial, I'd probably do shoes. A long line of shoes. Shoes walking. Shoes marching. Shoes dancing. Men's shoes. Women's shoes. Children's shoes. Probably fill the whole sculpture field with shoes. Nobody in them. So you couldn't say this person was that nationality or religion or whatever. Just shoes.

But that won't happen. To symbolic. And thing is, marching ain't what it used to be. I figure most people wouldn't get the drift of shoes. And my guess is that people will look and think here is yet another sculpture of yet another man in history.....and maybe he should be on a horse like a Union General. Just to get people thinking and wondering. Even if it has pigeons sitting all over the bronze sculpture.

Art that causes talk is better art. James Earl Ray was a bad piece of art. He stayed quiet too long.

Fred call aka bigbro

Sent by fred call | 5:54 PM ET | 08-30-2007

For those who do not know me, I'd like to introduce myself. I am a 66 year old African American artist. My work is considered "socially conscious". For more than 50 years I've created artwork that glorifies the beauty, the history, and the culture of African American people. My work is sold in galleries and gift shops around the world. My pieces have been in movies, and used as set decorations on television shows. I have been commissioned by organizations nationwide to create commemorative works of art. Procter & Gamble commissioned me to create the Salute to Greatness Award presented annually by the King Center here in Atlanta.I'm most widely known for a work entitled "He Ain't Heavy" which shows a black man leaning over a wall for another man's hand. I created it 30 years ago.

I am old enough to have witnessed first hand prejudice, bigotry and Jim Crow, and I survived it with bitter memories. If you remember history you'll hear only truth when I say that African Americans are not native to this country. We are not immigrants. We did not choose to come here. Our ancestors were brought here by force. Our most indelible footprint in history has been that we as a people are the descendants of those who survived the horrendous institution known as the system of American Slavery.

There are those whose names run through the history books, Carver, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman and others. Their accomplishments are condensed into a sentence or two each February, "...one hundred uses for the peanut..."

But that changed nearly 8 years ago. A handful of black men went to Congress to ask permission to build a monument to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--African American man and descendant of slaves. He would be immortalized in a national monument in the capitol city of what is known as the most powerful nation on the planet. His monument would stand throughout time on the National Mall among America's greatest statesmen. African American History would be important to our nation 365 days a year.

But through misguidance and greed and ignorance and apathy, a few folk decided to hand this most important commission, this most incredible honor of sculpting the centerpiece of the monument to an artist whose claim to fame are his statues in China of the mass murderer Mao Tse Tung. A deal was made for the stone for Dr. King's monument to come from China, quarried using slave labor. The workers have no rights and are not even provided proper masks to keep the killing silica dust from their lungs. No granite company in the USA was even allowed to bid on this project before it was outsourced directly to China. How do you think Dr. King would react to knowing a monument to him was being built with slave labor?!

The King Foundation board members have one answer, and one answer only, when asked how they allowed such decisions to go forward. They quote King's "I Have A Dream" speech about people being judged by the content of their character. But King used that quote a number of times. In the "Dream" speech the full quote is as follows: "I have a dream my four little children (that's Dexter, Bernice, Martin, and Yolanda) will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". In his speech, "Where Do We Go From Here," the full quote is "Let us be dissatisfied until men and women, however black they may be, will be judged on the basis of the content of their character and not on the basis of the color of their skin."

It is interesting to see how King's words are so neatly edited, how the focus of his intent is shifted when people want to change the picture of who Dr. King was to fit him into their own frame. King was talking about how black people were being treated back then, and are still being treated to this day. He was talking about how he hoped the world would change toward people of color. The word "Negro" is used 14 times in the "Dream" speech.

My favorite quote of King's, and the one that fits this situation perfectly is "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And people from around the world, of every nationality and creed, agree with me.

The artist the King Foundation has chosen, Lei Yixin, did not win any kind of competition. He is said to have been recommended by a group of his peers. In an article in the Los Angeles Times, he said he was napping in the grass and was approached by the members who offered him the job. Yixin said he had no idea how important the job was until he saw the plan. The truth is Ed Dwight was the original artist of record for the King monument. He's a black artist who has created monuments all over this country. Yixin was originally a subcontractor to the project until Dwight criticized his work. Then Dwight was kicked to the curb without courtesy of a phone call or letter in the mail.

It's true, Dr. King's hope was that someday black people would have the same opportunities as all other people. He hoped that African Americans would be able to attend the same schools, worship in the same churches, live in the same neighborhoods, get the same jobs for the same pay as others. Yet here is our very first (and last?) opportunity to display our culture and heritage in the first ever monument on our National Mall to an African American man and we're being told we're still not good enough. The King Foundation feels there is nothing wrong King's monument being "Made In China." We protest.

We as African American people DO care that someone who has sculpted memorials to a mass murderer has been given the honor of sculpting Dr. King. We won't allow someone from a communist country who knows nothing about the Civil Rights Movement, nothing about Dr. King, and nothing about what King stood for to have his named carved into Chinese granite in the first monument to an African American national hero in the history of this planet. When we say King Is Ours, we don't mean he belongs only to black people. People of all races and creeds join us in our protest. We mean he belongs to US. You and You and You are US.

King Is Ours
Gilbert Young
Lea Winfrey Young
& Hundreds of others....
www.kingisours.com
www.myspace.com/gilbertyoungart

Sent by Gilbert Young | 2:32 PM ET | 09-19-2007

Before I even read the article, I was suprised by how much the statue of Dr. King resembled artworks of Mao. I'm unimpressed with the sculpture and I think the critics are right about the aesthetics and the outsourcing. Maybe the committee should reconsider.

Sent by Shana | 5:41 PM ET | 12-05-2007

Just do it anyway, because it would be consistent with our belief that some one other than a black man could pull it of. Just as the saying goes " the white mans ice is colder, the the Chinese man art is better " Mr Johnson is an Proverbial Uncle Tom. Mr Johnson is likely to vote for that redneck Huckbee as well. AB Hearne

Sent by abhearne | 6:15 PM ET | 12-05-2007

Ask Mr Johnson about his association with the Alpha's and how they decided to screw Ed Dwight.

Sent by AB Hearne | 6:29 PM ET | 12-05-2007

When will people start to think and live like color doesn't matter? Dr King stood for and preached that we should not judge people based on skin color but what was in their hearts. And yet we continue to have Black this and African American that; protesting the choice of a sculptor based on nationality and skin color ALONE (yes, there may be other reasons to protest but I'm not talking about that here).
C'mon people. If you really want to honor Martin Luther King, quit being so Afro-American-racial-centric. If we can't get past this then he might as well have never been born.

Sent by Geoff | 7:34 PM ET | 12-05-2007

Apparently Gwen Moore of the NAACP has a hard time telling the difference between a country and a person. To equate Yixin's responsibility over the design with "a country with that has one of the worst human rights records" being in charge is ridiculous. I'm sure Gwen Moore would be up in arms if someone were to assign her responsibility for all the actions of the United States throughout history, which is what the NAACP is doing with Yixin. I thought the NAACP was against discrimination on the basis of race, whether African-American, or Chinese. It's this kind of rhetoric that destroys any chance of meaningful public discussion on the whole range of important issues in this country, the nationality of who is designing a sculpture being one of the least important.

Sent by Nathan Medders | 9:42 AM ET | 12-06-2007

Dr. King was never a man of stone. If you go back and look at all the photographs and media capturing King you will see that what comes out in his body language is his compasion, what comes out in his eyes is his understanding. Peace embodies his person.
When I first looked at the statue I thought and still think it beautiful. Sure, It looks like a towering dictator who has just crushed millions and is now overlooking the devestation...but when viewed from an artistic standpoint..it is beauty.

Is Lei's stone condescension a representation of the Dr. Martin Luther King jr., the hero of my six year old daughter and I? No.
King is the kind of man you would pass in the street and get caught by his smile, and have to say hello. Peaceful resistance, that is what made our King.
On the other side, if there were no African Americans who could do a 30ft granite sculpture, which I doubt, maybe there should be a change of tribute until the African Americans who's talents were not found or vigerously sought are brought to the surface.

Sent by Maia Heard | 9:45 AM ET | 12-06-2007

As Executive Director of the Barre Granite Association in Barre, Vermont, we remain astounded that no contact was ever made by the Martin Luther King Foundation to our office, inquiring about the vast resources and talent which resides in Vermont. Barre is called the Granite Center of the World, and has an industry that has thrived since the mid 19th century. The capitol building in Montpelier was built in the 1850's entirely from granite quarried in Barre and crafted by the artisans of the day. Today Barre boasts over 40 manufacturers and dozens of well trained sculptors, many of whom are descendants who learned the skill from their fathers and grandfathers. Since Barre was never asked to submit a proposal to do this project, the MLK Foundation is incoreect when it claims that it is a cost issue and a question of the most talented sculptor. Apparently the legacy of such a great man as Martin Luther King, is being veiled in a dollar sign. What a travesity that is!

Sent by John Castaldo | 11:31 AM ET | 12-06-2007

My first reaction to the picture of the sculpture was "That's not Dr. King." The face is more round and has a definite Asian feel to it. It is very close, but it is not Dr. King. I am of German ancestry, so maybe I am too much of a perfectionist, but I'm very good at remembering faces. The face on the sculpture is not Dr. King.

Sent by Richard Lisle | 11:57 AM ET | 12-06-2007

I can understand why Dr. King's stance in this sculpture is controversial. It's a bit of an aggressive stance for a man who promoted peaceful protest.

Maybe it is right to follow Dr. King's lead and welcome all sculptors to the table. I think what we can all agree on is that this memorial HAS to be the best representation/embodiment of Dr. King possible. His legacy is too important to get it wrong.

Sent by Mary S. | 1:18 PM ET | 12-06-2007

I think Lei Yixin's sculpture design of MLK is beautiful! I love that he will be 30 feet tall, arms folded, commanding power and demanding to be heard. What a powerful image of strength granted to a man who deserves just that. I don't care the race or color of the creator, if the creation is so wonderful.

Sent by janae | 3:07 PM ET | 12-06-2007

Some people didn't get the memo that race is a man-made construct, and when God creates people he doesn't abide by the foolishness that we make up in our heads.

Different nationalities can share similar features because we all have the same physical origin. The SOLE REASON why we vary in physical features is because of migration. Yes. Like Africa and Asia. Yes like Martin Luther King and someone from China. Just open your eyes people and stop being so blinded by the mental idea of race and labels.

I mean come'on people!

Sent by Avery-Sinclair | 4:01 PM ET | 12-06-2007

I enjoyed the article about the memorial for Dr. King, but I was taken aback by the picture of the statue because I thought he looked rather oriental....this was before I read the comments that others thought the same way. It never ocurred to me that ethnicity could be manifested by a sculptors hand without purposeful effort.

Sent by Mike | 5:13 PM ET | 12-06-2007

Let me repeat my point: All ethnicities originate from the same people. The reason why our physical features vary is because of the places we migrate to on Earth. For the record, MLK has almond shaped eyes, just like many many other Africans AND African Americans do. Just look at African masks or the paintings of Pablo Picasso.

If MLK looks "Chinese," then it's because Chinese people tend to have almond shaped eyes, as well. Almond shaped eyes are not limited to the country of China!!!!!!!!

African Americans, WAKE UP! Don't let me go Huey Newton on you (too late)!

Sent by Avery | 9:19 PM ET | 12-06-2007

I find it wildly ironic that people are taking into account the sculptor's race when it comes to MLK... isn't it racist to have a problem with someone because of their race?!?

Sent by Kevin Heller | 6:07 AM ET | 12-09-2007

The selection committee must have been in a tight spot. I looked at the previous sculptures of the artists involved and the Chinese artist is noticably stronger in aesthetic and technique. I would like to see Dwight's maquette. My guess is that it lacks the likeness and the "ping" of the chosen piece. How do you gracefully turn down an inferior work?

Discrediting the Chinese artist by invoking his country's bad record on human rights doesn't seem appropriate. Should we discredit all American artists simply because they are members of a warmongering nation with a shakey record on human rights themselves?

Politics aside, I would want a memorial object that looked good, uplifting, stupendous.

Still, I can't help but feel that this is an opportunity missed.

BTW, the architect for the new museum for the Native American, Douglas Cardinal, had his credit taken away and given to a Philadelphia firm. The obvious theft had the museum back off a bit and the true designer of the building has an improved mention on the NMAI's website.

Sent by Kimowan | 4:48 PM ET | 12-16-2007

It is unfortunate that American colleges and universities have failed -in the past 50 or so years - to train capable representational artists with the ability to create such works as the Dr. King memorial. Modernism took over and now few American artists have the skills needed to portray Dr. King in this medium. Under the strict control of communism the body of knowledge carried from the renaissance continued to be taught in the Soviet Union and then in China during the 20th century. While the Chinese seem to be a little stiff in their expression, their skill level as a nation is high. It takes more than talent to create great art, skill and adequate training is neccesary as well. Is the statue still in the maquette stage? Perhaps the sculptor can adjust it so the final product is more like Dr. King.

Sent by Sarah | 4:15 PM ET | 12-19-2007

Firstly, we as black people need to get over something we have been afraid of. Our own diversity. Black people are by default mixed with various African groups, Native Americans, White and Asian. The King sculpture looks partially mixed with Chinese?? Well guess what, King himself looks partially mixed with some Asiatic features. Just like many West Africans, Black Americans, and people of Madagascar. King's ancestry is partially Native American and even if not, one can easily see in the faces of the great Oni sculptures of the West African kingdoms the same "Chinese" features. Which is another thing people need to understand. These features are not confined to one historical group. You have Africans (unmixed with Asian) who look as Asian as East Asians (unmixed with African) look like Nigerians. I can easily google pictures of Black African looking Asians in the Philippines, Sentinel Island, Taiwan. People who look more Black than Martin Luther King. The sculpture looks like Martin Luther King, and the sculptor did a great job of conveying the dignity, integrity, honor, and greatness of Martin Luther King.

Sent by David VeLar | 8:08 PM ET | 01-03-2008

I am Clint Button, US Granite Industry Liaison to King Is Ours. Contact us at www. kingisours.com, sign our petition.

Here are some facts being omitted from the debate, while so many bite the hook baited with the race card-

In May 2006, one Barre VT sculptor was visited by the MLK Foundation for 15 minutes. All contact info he was given was bogus- phone numbers disconnected and email addresses "no recipient found". They then visited one manufacturer for 10 minutes but refused a free tour of operations (which included multiple sculptors working 30-40 ft from the door they refused to walk through) or quarries. Not even 30 minutes of effort before they left town to pretend it couldn't be done here in the USA. No one ever got to bid or even see project specs.

In June 2006, the MLK Foundation found the chinese sculptor "napping" on the lawn at an stone carving event in St Paul, MN and hired him without a clear conversation or even a portfolio review. He went home to China almost immediately with a check for $132,000.00. MLK Foundation Pres Harry Johnson stated Lei was hired "not because of King's message but because he could carve a 30 ft tall statue." Lei stated the statue is "not very difficult" from a technical perspective and that apprentices, not he, would do most of the work. All of this is from multiple published articles, mostly reported in 2007 because MLK Foundation made no significant effort to announce Lei's hiring until Feb 07, not even at the official groundbreaking ceremony in Washington DC in Nov 07 which was long after official contracts were signed in Aug 06. If they did no wrong, why such secrecy?

On Sunday July 22, 2007 The MLK Foundation went to Stone Mountain, GA to "survey various quarries" for granite for the project. They purposely do not tell the public all granite quarrying and manufacturing at Stone Mountain ceased in the 1970s or that no US Quarries operate on Sundays. There are 45 active quarries and 135 granite manufacturers in nearby Elberton, GA Region but not a single one has ever been contacted. That is the whole truth.

On Nov 8, 2007, KIO stood in front of a 24 ft tall granite statue in VT in a crowd of US Master Sculptors and carvers with the three Masters that actually carved that statue. MLK Foundation Pres Harry Johnson responded saying. "It is a lost art, if you will." Denied maybe, but not lost.

The 28 ft tall feature statue of Dr. King is to be 100% Made in China, completely carved in China using chinese labor, chinese granite and chinese design. By federal law, it will arrive in crates labeled "Made In China."

According to the MLK Foundation, no one has any say in the matter of the statue- only them- even though once our taxpayer money, support has become part of the budget, it legally taints all funds and requires all funds to be treated as federal money. That means an open bid process, which they refuse to allow.

$10 Million Federal money is supporting the project appropriated in June 2005 for FY 2006 (BEFORE Lei was contracted), yet never a single opportunity for fair open US Bid. It was outsourced directly to China. We've been told we'll get to bid only on the leftovers, comprising "at least 51%" of the project. Trade organizations representing 1000 US Granite companies (actual enumeration, not metaphoric) have joined King Is Ours and the CA NAACP in demanding to know why US companies, Artists and artisans were deliberately excluded by this private non profit foundation.
On Jan 21 2008 KIO had a press conference in Elberton, GA well received by regional public officials and NAACP now pursuing the matter, even though it was not widely covered by the media.

On Jan 22, the VT State legislature invited KIO to participate, testify in Feb 08 in the matter. Others in Washington DC are also active, including Congressional reps from VT, CA and other states.

For all the debate, China is a circumstantial player in this American-made disaster. Lei is likely proud of his ethnicity, country, heritage and craft. That is completely acceptable, but no different than Americans feeling the same way. It is our history, not China's, and that is why we are fighting for it.

Comments that Lei's statue look like Mao hit close to home. He has already done one nearly identical. He simply changed it by replacing Mao's head with Dr. King's. Partner that with reports MLK Foundation Executive Architect Ed Jackson has decreed that all references to race/ethnicity, including the words "Negro" and "colored" are to be expunged from Dr. King's quotations as they are inscribed in stone one the memorial. Mimicking King to Mao and changing the context of his words is a dangerous corruption of history.

It's time for the MLK Foundation leadership to be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. It's garbage to say what they do is OK because of their ethnicity. You cannot have it both ways. If our critics pursued offenders instead of us messengers with the same vigor, this project could be quickly resolved and repatriated.

So much truth, but so little interest from so many people. Don't believe the hype. We need you help. We'll tell you the whole truth. Join us. King Is Ours.

Clint Button, King Is Ours- US Granite Industry Liaison

Sent by Clint Button | 8:49 AM ET | 01-23-2008

Why is it that Black Americans always have to be the ones to make adjustments, to our expectations, so others can benefit by our efforts? We always talk about fairness, equality, inclusion except when it comes to accepting Black Americans, in any capacity. Heck, didn't the Chinese respond to American perception of "Human Rights Violations" by pointing out that we need to clean our own back yards before we critisize anyone else! Are we to be blinded by dollars or have we no sense of personal identity?

Sent by Chuck | 10:38 AM ET | 02-14-2008

It does look like a bit like a chinese man in the face, and the stance is a little too threatening to the eye. If I did a statue of Dr. King I think I would make him be behind a podium and standing as the the man we all looked at when he spoke. It wasn't what he looked like, it was his words of poetry of peace, that made us believe.

Sent by Leah | 5:34 PM ET | 05-11-2008

Why not put him in a pose that is more natural - such as in bed with a woman that was not his wife?

Sent by Josh | 8:58 PM ET | 05-11-2008

I would like to see him in the same stance, standing tall, but with his arms wide open and held high (as in non-violence: take your best shot, but also summoning, welcoming all people to him), head lifted into the light (lifting our attention to our highest vision) but eyes straight ahead, unflinching (wherever you stand, he is looking at you), face outrageously hopeful and confident.

Sent by Anne Grant | 5:53 PM ET | 05-13-2008

For those who are against the current sculpture being made by a Chinese artist, I think they should go back and read the "I have a dream speech" a few more times. If African Americans are to judge solely b/c the artist is from another race or country, then they should stop complaining about racial profiling. This is exactly what Dr. King is trying to lead Americans and the people of the world out of it--people not judged by their skin color but by their abilities. Based on the current controversy, obviously we still have a long way to go in 2008. It will truly be a great shame for all that Dr. King had worked for if changes are made b/c of skin color.

Sent by LZ | 10:08 PM ET | 05-14-2008

I had not seen the model of the statue before hearing the story of the controversy. I decided to keep an open mind and view the photo. My intial response was to his posture not his face. Psychologists, psychiatrists etc. say body language speaks volumes. Dr. King's message of love one another was taught via a not violent righteous anger but it was loving and welcoming, embracing the brotherhood of all peoples. To have a statue portraying him with arms clasped tightly around his body does not speak to his legacy.

Sent by Twila Hayes | 3:38 PM ET | 05-19-2008