On this occasion of celebrating Martin Luther King's life and mission, it's interesting to note that there is a Chinese connection to a memorial currently being planned for the slain civil rights leader on the National Mall in Washington D.C.
The project coordinators selected Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin in 2007 to be the Sculptor of Record for the memorial that would stand between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials on the Mall. The groundbreaking for the MLK Memorial is expected in early 2009 and it is expected to be completed by 2010.
But almost immediately after he was selected, Lei caught heat for not being African-American, or even American. The U.S. Commission on the Arts later criticized models of the sculpture, which show Dr. King with his arms folded, for looking too Socialist. To read more about this check out my article on this issue.
In response to this, the sculpture of King was softened and the Commission gave its go-ahead last fall. But to the project organizers' credit, they defended the choice of Lei, who was picked for his expertise in working with large-scale sculptures around the world.
How apropos of Dr. King -- To have people judged by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin. Resource from http://chineseculture.about.com/b/
You can more Chinese culture from http://www.echineselearning.com
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