Summit County Citizens Voice

The MLK memorial on the National Mall. PHOTO COURTESY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

After meeting with King’s family, National Park Service decides to use full text of correct quote

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —Top federal officials last week said they will change a quote used in an inscription on the recently-dedicated Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall.

The decision came after Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis met with members of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s family.

Observers and visitors to the new memorial have noted that a quote etched in the stone near the statue’s left shoulder is paraphrased from a passage in a sermon that Dr. King delivered at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1968. The paraphrased quote reads: “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”

Under the plan announced today, the current paraphrased quote would be removed and replaced with the entire text of the exact quote as delivered by Dr. King: “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.” (more…)

Filed under: Summit County news | Tagged: Bernice King, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, MLK drum major quote, MLK memorial quote, National Mall, National Park Service | 1 Comment »