Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Built by Chinese Sculptor and Stonemasons

On October 16, 2011, the long-awaited new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. President Obama and various public figures paid homage to the person who personified the civil rights movement in the United States. He literally gave his life for the cause.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, the renowned Chinese sculptor, Lei Yixin was engaged to create the 30-foot high, pink marble statue of King.

The $120 million dollar monument is nestled on four acres of the National Mall at the edge of the tidal basin. It is composed of 159 slabs of pink-hued Chinese granite. It is the only memorial on the National Mall of a person who was not a president or fallen soldier.

According to The Telegraph website, King’s son, Martin Luther King III, was immensely pleased with the rendition and complimented it profusely. That has not silenced the criticism by other parties.

A prominent criticism is that an African-American sculptor would have been most appropriate. Barring that, any other American sculptor should have been given precedence over a Chinese citizen.

There is also the moral component. The Telegraph also quotes Denver Sculptor Ed Dwight as saying that Dr. King would be outraged if he knew his memorial was sculpted by people living in a communist country. While American workers were being used for much of the work, American stonemasons were outraged that Chinese stonemasons were being used to assemble the memorial.

According to the Washington Post, the Memorial Foundation was unresponsive, so the union hired an investigator to interview the Chinese stonemasons at their apartment. A Mandarin interpreter and a Washington Post reporter accompanied the investigator.

The Chinese stonemasons stated that they did not know what wages they would be receiving. They were working because of national pride and to bring honor to their country. Nevertheless, they hoped to be paid when they returned home. They received room and board and lunchtime consisted of only enough time to eat their lunch.

In responding to criticism for outsourcing the memorial to China, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation stated that the pink granite was not available in the U.S. Critics ask why the color could not have been changed to a color that was available in the U.S. In fact, the no-bid contract was awarded to China without allowing U.S. granite suppliers to bid.

We have recently been plagued with a high unemployment rate and a lackluster economy. This is due in part to the lack of community spirit by governments, businesses and now a memorial committee. Outsourcing by too many groups shows lack of concern for American jobs and stimulation of the American economy. One component of patriotism is willingness to sacrifice a little for the overall well-being of the citizens of your country.

Sources:

Patrik Jonsson/”MLK Memorial: From China, with Love?”Christian Science Monitor

Malcolm Moore/”Martin Luther King Memorial Made in China”The Telegraph.co.UK

“As Chinese Workers Build the Martin Luther King memorial, a Union Investigates” /Washington Post