atlgaytheist

atlgaytheist , 4 hours ago to random

I'm still going through thousands of photos from my trip, but the Dr Martin Luther King Jr memorial is one I keep thinking back on. The details and symbolism are incredible.

It was designed as an "unfinished" statue to represent his unfinished work. And the statue is symbolically cut from a much bigger rock that represent the mountain of despair that MLK Jr referenced in his famous DC speech.

And it is specifically oriented so that he forever looks across the Potomac at the Jefferson memorial, representing a slaveowner who penned an ideal he didn't fully embrace.

In MLK Jr's words, Jefferson penned a promissory note on behalf of the United States that we defaulted on. And nearly 200 years later, MLK Jr stood on the National Mall to demand that it apply to everyone.

A photo from behind the MLK JR statue showing it facing across the Potomac River towards the Jefferson Memorial