Many would say that the Washington Mall's recognition of the most important religious and civic figure of the 20th century is long overdue, and they would be right. But what is clear is that America needs this monument to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. -- right now.
The MLK Monument is meant to encourage the visitor to move, literally, from despair toward hope. The design is clearly based on the quote from King's "I Have A Dream" speech that reads: "With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope." With this in mind, the visitor approaching the monument is forced to pass through the Mountain of Despair, which stands like two forbidding sentinels, or to my mind, two sides of the threatening Red Sea, parted by God as Moses led the Hebrew people out of bondage.
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