While many have heralded the unveiling of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial on the National Mall as a major milestone for race relations in America, the way it was constructed is an injustice to King’s vision. The selection of a foreign architect, foreign materials, and unpaid foreign labor were unacceptable choices for a memorial to an American icon.
The greatest problem of the monument’s construction was the selection of Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin to complete the memorial. The selection was an insult to the many talented American sculptors and architects who could have executed the project. The fact that a foreign designer was chosen to create a permanent tribute to MLK on the Mall, the center of American historical remembrance and a place to showcase the best of America, is disrespectful to American taxpayers and to King’s legacy. Unlike the other edifices that grace the symbolic center of our nation, King’s memorial is not American-made. The Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument were constructed from Colorado marble and Maryland granite and sandstone respectively, while the MLK memorial was constructed with Chinese marble.
Another disappointing aspect of the affair was the use of free Chinese labor to construct the memorial. The laborers who assembled the memorial worked for “national pride” and no financial compensation. While the Civil Rights movement has been framed in more idealistic and lofty terms, King also strove for economic equality and labor rights.
All across the United States, skilled laborers are looking for work. Some of them could have easily been employed on this project. Although choosing American labor would not have made a significant impact on the national unemployment rate, it is the responsibility of our government to support the American worker. Moreover, the failure to use American labor does injustice to King’s championing of workers’ rights.
The memorial’s unfortunate construction reminds us that our government and society remain imperfect, as they were in King’s time. Americans must not passively ignore this dishonor to King’s legacy, but instead use the controversy of the monument’s construction to analyze our current societal ills. This memorial must not serve as a physical declaration that the conversation about, and struggle for, racial equality is over in America. Rather, it should leverage King’s legacy to bring his ideals into sharper focus.
