Weekly Poll: Maya Angelou Doesn’t Like King Inscription
By: Pam Taylor
Maybe Maya Angelou has a point that the MLK Memorial inscription above “makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit." I don’t think so. Yes, it was taken out of context and perhaps future generations will have little knowledge of the quote’s origins.
Many of us still remember that it was just a couple of months before his assassination that Dr. King delivered that oft-quoted and prophetic sermon, instructing his eulogists by saying, “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.”
Even out of context, the inscription is the truth. It is difficult to imagine anyone, now or generations from now, reading the inscription and thinking “egotist.”
I agree with Jenée Desmond-Harris, who wrote in The Root, “It would be impossible for the structure to perfectly communicate the many nuances of his work and personality in a way that would ring true for all of us. The good news is that it seems to be serving its purpose as the beginning, rather than the end, of a conversation about the civil rights leader's legacy.” Maya Angelou Slams MLK Memorial Inscription
What do you think? Does the quote on the memorial make Dr. King “look like an arrogant twit”?
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