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Martin Luther King Memorial made in China
Published: 26 August, 2011, 20:11
Edited: 26 August, 2011, 23:31
The "Stone of Hope" sculpture of Martin Luther King by Chinese artist Lei Yixin is open to the public on August 22, 2011 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC (AFP Photo)
TAGS: Celebrity, Protest, Human rights, History, China, Corruption, USA, Employment, Culture, Economy
Born in Atlanta, killed in Memphis and made in China.
It might not be the most likely of locales to be associated with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., but the monument to him revealed this week on Washington DC’s National Mall has some rather peculiar ties to the Far East that’s now causing a controversy.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was designed and sculpted by a Chinese artist using Chinese materials and designed in China. It was eventually transported in pieces to America to be assembled, but only with the aid of a team of Chinese stonemasons who were flown in specifically for the job. Stateside, the masons worked free of charge to erect the monument and when asked by the Washington Post why they accepted the job on pro bono terms, one worker said “to bring glory to the Chinese people” and to work for “national honor.”
Edward Jackson Jr, executive architect behind the monument, added to the Post that the memorial’s sculptor, Lei Yixin, wasn’t chosen over money issues but because of his talent and capabilities. “Not only did we need an artist, we needed someone with the means and methods of putting those large stones together,” Jackson said. “We don’t do this in America. We don’t handle stones of this size.”
Some critics believe that the job could have been done domestically, and that by using materials from the hometown of Martin Luther King or having more from the legion of unemployed Americans working towards completing the monument would have been more appropriate than outsourcing.
Elsewhere, those behind the monument are receiving criticism for selecting a Chinese sculptor for what some say was an issue of money. One African American sculptor, Ed Dwight, says he was told by the backers of the MLK Memorial that they were hoping that choosing a Chinese artist would persuade the Chinese government to give them upwards of $25 million to reach their fundraising goal. Speaking to The Telegraph, Dwight adds that King would be “turning over in his grave” if he knew that his monument was made in a communist country.
While King fought most of his life for equality, the FBI suspected him to have Communist ties of his own in the 1950s. Former FBI director J Edgar Hoover actually ordered an investigation of King but decades later they revealed that they could not officially link him to any communist groups.
There is at least one solid connection between communism and the MLK memorial, however. One of Yixin’s most notable works on his resume include a sculpture of Chinese dictator Mao Zedong. Yixin says he has also fashioned a bronze bust of US President Barack Obama, which he intends on giving to the commander in chief.
26.08.2011, 07:31
3 comments
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the funny thing about this project was that its a dream come true for the tea party, seeing how no American union or American tax went into it & was done on time and on budget just like all the Chinese projects in Africa. the contradiction is, civil rights today is to defend the rights of worker in America for outsourced countries. my regret was it should have been an American funded project (with both American tax payer and Corporations) build by American unions. but hey we live in a different time.
Stateside, the masons worked free of charge to erect the monument and when asked by the Washington Post why they accepted the job on pro bono terms, one worker said “to bring glory to the Chinese people” and to work for “national honor.” ======================================== And this is exactly why China is going to kick our ass. Americans could give a shit about their country. ME ME ME is all they're concerned with. American Idol, BS television shows, etc. and their ignorant understanding of the Federal Government. 90% of Americans probably think that our government represents us and advocates for America!! Seriously, Americans are so dumbed down and ignorant it's pathetic. Republicans versus Democrats...not understand that BOTH parties are the same. OWNED. Thanks to the Jew Lame Stream media, to behave as these China men behave would get you called a racist or a fascist nazi in the news. God forbid American's have a sense of Nationalism. Our government doesn't. They're too busy spending money we don't have rebuilding the rest of the world.
Couldn't find Americans to do it? That's Bull.
Every huge memorial in this country in Washington and everywhere else in the U.S. was made here. You mean couldn't do it for the price that China can.
Would MLK like the idea that a memorial in his honor was made from the exploitation of people working 16 hour days for a $1 a day,
Wouldn't that memorial being made here create some jobs in the U.S. OR... 120 million dollars would go a long way towards helping people who need financial help and not a large rock to look at?
This memorial was made to stroke the egos of people like Maya Angelou. Now she's criticising the quote being innacurrate, which is ironic. If she really understood the correct quote, they wouldn't havet have wasted all of that money for a monstrocitly in the first place.