“Everybody can be part of this memorial,” said Harry E. Johnson Sr., the St. Louis native who serves as president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Project Foundation has raised $107 million out of the $120 million needed to complete the monument, and is still in the process of seeking the remaining funds.
This Black History Month, Johnson hopes to raise a significant portion of the remaining $13 million needed to construct the memorial. Johnson has raised funds by targeting large corporations, foundations, highly networked individuals and churches.
Also, the foundation hosts “Dream dinners,” a celebration with a corporation that gave the memorial project a large donation.
“Would love to do one in St. Louis,” Johnson said.
Johnson remembers his hometown as “a very good family city.”
“I tell people that every time I speak,” Johnson said.
The foundation is doing more than raising money in Dr. King’s memory. It is keeping his memory alive through education as well.
Its Kids for King Education Initiative is designed to educate and inspire young people regarding the legacy of Dr. King and the importance of the national memorial being built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Kids for King provides curricula to teachers, parents and students regarding Dr. King’s legacy. The initiative then invites participants to demonstrate, through essay, art, or video, their understanding of four ideals – democracy, justice, love and hope – as well as how they plan to carry the legacy forward.
Kids for King is open to all U.S. residents who attend public, private, charter and home schools and are in grades 3-12. Nine national finalists and a chaperone will enjoy an expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capital.
“This allows kids to explain to themselves and others what Dr. King meant to them and what he meant to change the world,” Johnson said.
“Hopefully, the kids will learn more about Dr. King besides that he gave the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech and get a day off from school.”
The statue of Dr. King will stand 28 feet tall carved in granite stone, as if staring at the Jefferson Memorial. The statue, however, is only part of the memorial, which is conceived of as “an engaging landscape experience tied to other landscapes and monuments, not as a single object or memorial dominating the site.”
“Not just a statute, it’ll be an experience,” Johnson said.
On one of the stones in the memorial, Dr. King’s powerful words are inscribed: “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.’”
There are also will be niches carved in the memorial wall to honor other heroes of the Civil Rights Movement, with some left empty for future heroes.
The statue of Dr. King is the work of Chinese artist Lei Yixin – a decision that stirred controversy – and the overall site design is by Roma Design Group of San Francisco. Its site design was chosen in a competition that received more than 800 entries.
Construction of the memorial started late December of last year. Lines for electricity in the memorial have been started, and within 18 months the memorial should be completed. Some 85 percent of the sculpting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s image has been completed, and the statue is scheduled to be placed in the groundwork in late August or September.
Johnson is a brother in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which started the memorial project foundation. The Alphas first raised about $4.5 million. Other black Greek organizations also helped to raise funds for the memorial.
Johnson graduated from Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis. He furthered his education at Xavier University and then went on to law school and is now partner at a law firm in Houston.
Johnson advised youth to get “a good education and set your goals to do something, then whatever your passion is you follow your passion. That is how you become successful. Look to bigger and better things.”
Johnson said he has never been asked to speak to schools about his accomplishments with the foundation. Since he is from the area and visits frequently to see his family and friends, he would welcome the opportunity to speak about his education and how he became a successful African-American man.
“There is no magic in being successful. The magic is having the will to do it,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the word “mentor” wasn’t used when he was coming up. He said, “It was just people who were actually concerned within the community.”
For further information about the memorial, to donate, to set up a Dream dinner in St. Louis or to contact Johnson, call 202-737-5420 or visit www.buildthedream.org.