Morning photo: DC Fireworks

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Independence Day on the National Mall

Click on the viewer to watch the fireworks full-screen

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Our family trip to Washington, D.C. was planned long before we knew there would be a fireworks ban in most of Colorado, and there’s nothing like the great display put on over Dillon Reservoir by the town of Frisco, especially since we can watch it right off the deck of Summit Voice headquarters.

I was a little hesitant to post these, as I felt bad for the folks who didn’t get to see local fireworks this year, but in the end, it was such a great display that I wanted to share it.

But it was a real treat to watch this special national holiday unfold in the capitol, which embraces the Fourth of July as a special responsibility. Yes, security was tight, but amazingly, you can still stroll to within a few yards of the White House. And the fireworks that unfolded over the storied monuments of our national pantheon were stirring and powerful, right up the last of the rockets’ red glare.

More photos from Independence Day in DC here, along with a short essay here.

 

Filed under: Morning photo, photography, Travel | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Park Service to correct quote on MLK memorial

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

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: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

MLK memorial dedicated on the National Mall

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

A statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. is in place in a pantheon of great Americans on the National Mall.

New National Park site in Washington, D.C. commemorates King’s leadership of the civil rights movement:

“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — The newest memorial site in the National Park system honors not a general or a president, but a citizen activist, who, with steadfast tolerance, compassion and commitment, gave hope to millions and changed the face of the United States.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall was officially scheduled to be dedicated Aug. 28, on the 48th anniversary of a huge civil rights march in the capitol that showed the American public the power of peaceful protest. The demonstration, popularly dubbed as the Great March on Washington, took place Aug. 28, 1963 and culminated with Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

The ceremony, however, was delayed because of Hurricane Irene. According to Dedicate the Dream, the official web site for the nonprofit group organizing the event, the official ceremony will take place later in September or October.

The march was organized by civil rights, labor and religious organizations, with a crowd of 200,000 to 300,000 Americans filling the mall, where the granite statue of King now stands serenely alongside memorials to other great Americans. Within two years of the march, Congress passed both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. King also was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. (more…)

Filed under: federal government, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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