On Monday, August 22, many Washington, D.C. tourists had the opportunity to get a first look at the new monument dedicated to the late civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The new 30-foot-tall granite statue stands on 4 acres of the National Mall and overlooks the Tidal Basin.
Since its debut there has been a bit of a controversy over a certain feature of the monument. On the north side of the statue, there is an inscription of a quote taken from King’s powerful 1968 sermon at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. An excerpt of the speech was engraved, saying: “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”
Poet Maya Angelou has since addressed her disappointment in the choice of words and called the monument’s feature “misleading”:
“The quote makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit,” Angelou, 83, said Tuesday. “He was anything but that. He was far too profound a man for that four-letter word to apply. He had no arrogance at all. He had a humility that comes from deep inside. The ‘if’ clause that is left out is salient. Leaving it out changes the meaning completely.” The paraphrase “minimizes the man,” she said. “It makes him seem less than the humanitarian he was. . . . It makes him seem an egotist.” [Source]
The original and complete quote from King’s sermon reads as follows:
“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.” – The Drum Major’s Instinct
On the other (south) side of the statue, there is another inscription that says: “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”
Maya Angelou hates black men. i am sorry. she wanted OBAMA to lose the election now this. she was on tv talking about how she wanted clinton to win instead of barack. maybe she has been hurt by black men in her past. but it shows
Obama is not even all that! I wish we look past the fact that he’s black. If thats the only reason you voted for him its a shame. Maya has an opinion and she makes valid points that reach beyond the fact that he is black…just sayin
@MOXI
Yes, she does hate black men. Most black women do, particularly “successful” or “educated” black women lol. They are just not astute enough to understand that they’ve been trained to do so. Let’s establish something first. Just the fact that a statue was built for this man should raise his TRUE purpose into question. Whether black people like it, understand it, admit it, or not, this is a CAUCASIAN country. The races of color that inhabit this land are here predominately to provide entertainment, cheap labor, and fodder for the prison industrial complex. This statue is part of MLK’s Judas purse. He sold out his people and fell in with the illuminists, and used his standing as a “reverend” to sucker black people into the NWO agenda of “integration”, which has subsequently FURTHER destroyed the black family unit. He was a charlatan and a pawn who did not even write the speech that he is most known for. The “I Have A Dream” speech was written by a Jewish communist provocateur named Stanley Levinsohn. Bayard Rustin just used King because he understood that the “civil rights movement” was just a precursor to the h*mosexual movement, which is what Rustin was really interested in promoting.
Obama is waaay better and faaar more brilliant than H.Clinton that is why he won. he is not the only black man to run for president. he is the first to win.
Barack Obama is waaay better than h.clinton he is faaar more brilliant. that is why he won. he is not the 1st black man to run for office. HE IS THE 1ST TO WIN!!!!!!!!!!
____@JUDAH____KISS MY BLACK AZZ. WITH YOUR RACIST POST.
Well she was raped by a black man. That could be where her hate comes from.
@JUDAH,
You’ve chosen such a very lonnnng and narrow path to a truth/belief (or is it your stage, comedienne. If it is the former, then it has you angry that very few want to belong to your club. This self-hatred you have is not new. Its the very oddest and oldest adage of your kind. Dude, you have been brainwashed. Keep learning and searching newer things and ways my brother. Learn to concentrate more on your spirit and your mind will be freed. Hope you find it before its too late. Hope you don’t die “an old man stuck in his ways.” Honestly, nobody really cares.
@JUDAH
P.S.
YOU are the help . . .
@ONELOVE
You devoted a long, obtuse, slave-minded missive towards me and ended it with “No one really cares…” lmaooo. Obviously miss, you must care. You care so much that your dumb a$$ read every comment I made and even addressed a “P.S.” towards me. It’s interesting that you state that the path that “I’ve chosen” is “long and narrow” because the scriptures tell us the same thing pertaining to the TRUTH (Matt 7:13,14, II Esdras 7:3-14). I’m not your brother, and if one has the truth, they do not have to keep searching you idiot (II Tim 3:7). Lastly let me say that you are correct. My brain has indeed been washed from the filth (Eph 5:26, John 15:3, etc.), which is why you are not on the level to converse or debate with me on anything in anyway lol.
she was raped? omg i did not know that. (im sorry) i got shivers when i read that comment. i always knew it was something especially when she voted against Obama. Oprah was his supporter and her and Oprah are best friends.
@MOXI— GROW THE FUCK UP , MAYA ANGELO IS A VERY WISE BLACK FEMALE AND SHE’S VERY HONEST .
Yes it should be changed! that one lil summarization takes away the whole meaning of what he was trying to say! An it does make him seem like everything maya angelou described…. as side from that an AMAZING tribute that i will def. go to see one day
Respect her opinion but I don’t think it makes him look arrogant. I would have liked another quote to be used but its too late so we might as well try to look at the positive.
I see what she’s saying but to me it doesn’t make him look arrogant or like a twit. I will agree that leaving the next sentence out could be seen as misleading but it actually is what he said. Editor’s and journalist do this all the time. Listen to all of what you said and print half of it. I do understand the way she feels but I don’t think it’s the biggest deal ever.
Note to Maya: We, as a people, have other wars to fight. Personally, that is a battle I’d leave alone.
GREAT POST
YODA needs to shut her white man loving ass up… Seriously old bag… I’ve had issues with her for years in always promoting black but quick to jump a white man’s bones…
I guess because they don’t call her YODA… LOL
No, they don’t call her Yoda. They call her “the help”. I always find it interesting that most of the so-called “pro-black” women usually believe that only a white man is good enough for them lol. That is because “pro-black” women are not “pro-black”. They are “pro-black woman”.
Maya Angelou is a damn fool!
Martin Luther King was a man fighting for human rights and equality – he was a proud black man, fighting for a righteous cause – and that is what he looks likes in the statute – a proud black man, who knew his worth, and wanted it recognized by white human beings!
Maybe Maya Angelou is so use to acting inferior to white Americans – that she is surprised at seeing a statute of a black man who was proud, and unapologetic for being black.
Wake up Maya – Martin Luther King, and the millions of blacks who fought with him – were fighting for a righteous cause – they have every right to LOOK proud, and BE proud!
She is referring to the quote not what the statue looks like. And the quote does make him sound arrogant. The bottom line is: that’s not an exact quote. They summarized. If you’re going to put a quote on his memorial of something he said it would be best if it was his exact words so nothing can be misconstrued. Just saying..I feel you Maya (The “if” in the original quote is what makes the whole thing a humble yet powerful statement)
You do realize Maya Angelou participated in the Civil Rights struggle as well?
Of course it starts going into the “black people aren’t ever satisfied” issue when things like this start popping up. When the blueprints were release of the monument, where was she? Don’t try to add in a last minute opinion that degrades the overall victory of the monument.
Umm would her opinion even matter in this situation? Prolly not…unless she started some crazy rally which she prolly will not do at the age of 83. Just let her have her opinion and lets move on..holla!
This is ridiculous. Why can’t Maya be glad that there’s a statue to memorialize MLK? Why all the complaints? There’s nothing wrong with the statue nor the quote.
@ Kierra I don’t think she had issue with the statue – if ou read the article – she had issue with the quote. I do agree that the quote they used should have been used in its entiretly because using a portion of it changes the meaning. However who was in charge of erecting the monument – black or white people? The funny thing is though – his fight for equality aside – I do feel that he had a degree of arrogance. I think we try to make people martyrs and not realize that they are people too with flaws.
I respect that
Yes, it should be changed!
As one of the people on the BOARD that were tasked with the building of this monument said, she had years during which to make her argument, she did not. She also didn’t attend any of the meetings for the inscriptions.
Thanks for giving some perspective on this.
@C – As one of the people on the board you should have known better. Common sense can tell you that the quote that he made and the portion of the quote that you and the rest of the board used on the monument have different meanings and different intentions. So why was that choice made is what you should explain. Why not use the whole quote?
I agree, how dare they ? the statue and the words are not perfect to ALL black people. You know cause everything else is perfect. The statue is too tall he was not that tall in real life. I should know becuase I met him. Might I also add the statue is to light. It does not show what a real black man looks like especially the black man they call MLK. How dare they make him cross his arms like that.. Again how dare they.
THANK YOU …I felt the same way about the ‘crossing of the arms’ as in body language that gesture represent ‘closing’ things out, not being open to receive when is the COMPLETE opposite of what the late Dr. MLK was about…
which is why this body language action was always done by brothas in the ‘hood’ they had no idea they were cutting themselves off to receiving light and positive energy…
anyhoo the misquote purposely done is so typical of those who feels inferior to the African Diaspora smh
sarcasm???
This ole slave talking hen is still alive?
Are you a white person ?
Maya Angelou…have a got damn seat. MLK could have not had any statue to put anything on. Niggas aint satisfied with shit.
Anybody ever thought that ar 83 years old she may not had the strength or will power to travel for a meeting. She worked along beside Malcolm and the civil rights movement. She has earned her scars from the fight that none of us are willing to do. They were strong people who saw the injustices and some did die from those decisions. That God for the people who fought, lost their lives and well-being so I am able to ;ive a more freer life. May God protect Maya. We all need to learn a little more respect for our elders.
Ms. Angelou was all around this country of ours promoting her cookbook though. We should stop making excuses for people.
@ken bitch shut up respect your elders
Thats It…Im going There With My Hammer and Nail LOL #TimeToChangeUpThatQuote
the simple answer to the simple question, should it be changed, is yes. quote the man in his entirety, memorialize what he stood for, things he did, the way the man thought. arrogance and pride? i never saw that in mlk, not in his demeanor, not in his speeches, his hometown memorials, nothing. a pride in his people, yes, but the context in which it’s said here gives the impression it was self-directed, which really couldn’t be further from the truth.
I could be wrong, but I think this is the first time Concreteloop said anything about the MLK monument. If so, i’m appalled at the fact that they would wait until some controversy arises to mention it. Maybe I missed the post.
ms maya is right how dare you mis quote mlk just put i’ve seen the mountain top on it and call it a day! CHANGE IT
Wow that monument is huge seeing that man next to it, so how is it they did not have room for the entire phrase. I hate when people take excerpts and phrases out of context and it loses its intended effect or message, much like alot pharisee judging so called holy folk like to do to with the Bible. The next time someone quotes a scripture to you in judgement, ask for the verse so you can look it up and read the verses above and below it to get the full intent…. not their out of context judging version. And ask them to find about 10 verses talking about them while they quoting. They need to update this quote while its still early.
Update the quote! Damn! Maya was not criticizing, she was concerned again for our people. The future misrepresentations of those must learn to know him, but will have these words, this image. Please, lets know the difference.
You know these folks on here have to capacity for critical thinking.
so there would be no books? just this statue
I read in a yahoo news report that Maya did not attend any of the meetings she was invited to where quotes were presented and voted on. If that is the case, then she needs to get somewhere and sit down. If she failed to speak up when it mattered, then this is all a waste of time and makes her look like a twit!
I heard the same thing. Wasn’t through Yahoo tho.
I am appualed at Mya Angelou. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Soroity, Inc. and I wonder if she possed this opinion before the memorial was constructed. We face enough criticism just because we are black, we certainly don’t need this coming from one of our most respected and revered leaders and figure of this day. I beg to differ Ms. Angelou, I think he appears confident.
Maya needs to look at the positive in this memorial. We should celebrate the fact that white America allowed a memorial to be built to a black man on the National Mall.
I respect her opinion but instead of looking at the flaws of the memorial, black people should be proud. Generations to come will be able to visit this memorial and see exactly what Dr. King envisioned during the Civil Rights Movement with excellent excerpts from his famous speeches and sermons.
The architect’s design should not be the focus of discussion for this great moment in history.
Now, if she didnt attend any meetings she need to sit down, waiting until it was nailed in and then show up… no Maya!
I agree with her, it makes him seem arrogant and self-righteous and asian
Dont be so quick to worship a human, we dont live perfect lifes.
Was he a communist? No, but the sustained effort by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI to portray King as a Bolshevik wasn’t purely a product of cold war paranoia. A number of King’s associates were former communists, notably New York lawyer Stanley Levison, who had been active in the Communist Party USA as late as 1956. Levison was one of King’s most trusted confidants and helped write some of his speeches. King’s political views can safely be described as left of center–among other things he vociferously opposed the Vietnam war. But the available evidence suggests he was neither a communist nor unduly influenced by Marxist ideas.
Did he spend donated money on prostitutes? The most sordid charges about MLK’s sex life, this one included, come from the FBI and can’t necessarily be trusted. But there’s no doubt about what one biographer calls King’s “compulsive sexual athleticism.” King’s attitude toward women was chauvinist and often exploitative. In his 1989 autobiography, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, King’s close friend and fellow civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy writes that on the night before he died, King gave a rousing speech, had dinner with a woman afterward and remained with her till 1 AM, then came back to his motel to spend the night with a second woman. In the early morning hours a third woman came looking for King and became angry when she found the bed in the room he shared with Abernathy unoccupied. When King reappeared, he argued with woman #3 and wound up knocking her across the bed.
In his 1991 memoir, Breaking Barriers, journalist Carl Rowan writes that in 1964 congressman John Rooney told him that he and his congressional committee had heard J. Edgar Hoover play an audiotape of an apparent orgy held in King’s Washington hotel suite. Over the sounds of a couple having intercourse in the background, according to Rooney, King could be heard saying to a man identified as Abernathy, “Come on over here, you big black motherfucker, and let me suck your dick.” Horrors, King was gay! (Rowan thinks this was just ribald repartee.) In his account of the same episode, civil rights historian Taylor Branch attributes a couple more quotes to King: “I’m fucking for God!” and “I’m not a Negro tonight!” The FBI anonymously sent King (or, according to some accounts, King’s wife, Coretta) a tape of compromising material recorded in his hotel rooms. The tape was either accompanied or followed up by a note suggesting that King should commit suicide if he wished to avoid exposure.
I agree with Maya. I don’t like the quote they used and how they paraphrased it. They need to CHANGE it. asap
It really does make it seem like MLK was arrogant. I would equate this to someone artist saying that they are a prodigy and they’ve gained success quickly.
Impressive site, I already posted a reply to one of your articles and posted it on my facebook. Just to let you know, when I clicked to tabs in the black info box on the home page it did not send me anywere or show the articles promoted.Overall great job.
Look whether Maya attended the meetings or not that has got nothing to do with s**t.. The quote was not quoted properly period..
@C – As one of the people on the board I would’nt be so proud/quick to come forth because you should’ve known better, instead you come on this site and say she didn’t attend the meetings.. So what.. Clearly the board was a bunch of twits, I would’ve shout up if I were you and mind my mouth.
Brothers and Sisters, MLK’s words and speeches have been intentionally misinterpreted, misquoted, and misstated from the start of our struggle. We must take opportunities like this to start a meaningful conversation with our children about the thoughts and exact words of our role models and leaders. While reminding them that it was Maya Angelou’s generation that raised us to believe that, if you can’t say anything good, then don’t say anything at all.
the statue should be grey not white.
that is the only problem i have.
does anyone agree with that ?
This may come off ignorant and im fine with that. But Truthfully Beggars Cant Be Choosers. Us, Black People, civil rights movement have been begging for things like this for years so now that we have it…we need not to complain. BTW @ATRAIN had the most truthful/ respectable comment
Check Maya Angelou credentials before you bash her…. This woman knows the English language like the back of her hand. I believe she’s definitely qualified to make a critique of the famous quote. I agree with her opinion, but I also applaud the people who created the memorial.
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dude you cant be serious
wow it’s incredible for a man to change the world in the way Dr.King has with the segregation laws, white only signs, being spit on, beat up, killed, we could not go to certain schools,
its is amazing for us to see this type of honor to King its a way of this country acknowleding the hell black americans went throu. police dogs biting us. making us give our seats to them by law.
this is a start.
Pics of folks paying tribute at the memorial:
http://www.thegrio.com/black-history/slideshow-mlk-memorial.php
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