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The MLK Memorial: Too Black?
Lost in all the primary coverage, Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post penned a great column last week about the current dustup over the statue for Washington's MLK memorial.
The
statue's clay model can be seen on my blog, along with Chinese sculptor Lei
Yixin, who was commissioned by the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts to
create a 28-foot tall likeness of Dr. King. According to Robinson, the
Commission can't even handle a stern-faced King, one that might imply
that - gasp! - King might've been angry. Or even resolute.
I mean, does that image of Dr. King really look all that threatening?
The
twisting of King's image into a savior for the ignorant white masses of
America's haunted racialist past is well-documented, from Robinson's
column above to Michael Eric Dyson and other biographers. What makes me
ill is that in 2008, there are interests that still want to manipulate
King into a hero that assuages their own guilt about their personal
shortcomings. That is not what true leaders do, and that is not what
King did for African-Americans and their White neighbors.
King,
to me, was about leading us to the water. He did not tell us, "You may
drink", as if he were delivering some majestic decree. He did not ask
us to drink, as if he needed our permission to dispense justice. King
said, "This is the water that will clench your thirst, but I cannot
drink it for you. It is up to you to claim it for yourself." Real
leaders empower those that they lead to lead for themselves, and Dr.
King's example to me was strength beneath the preacher exterior,
passion beneath the whitewashed image I was given on the one page of my
private-school American history text that covered the Civil Rights
Movement. Apparently, it's not enough for the U.S. Commission on Fine
Arts to actually depict the man being memorialized.
Shortly after the birthday of Malcolm X (May 19), we're reminded that to this day, even
Dr. King isn't allowed to be angry. Well, I ask the Commission: what
the hell did they think the Civil Rights Movement was borne of?
It
never ceases to amaze me how frightened this country can be of an angry
Black man.
Even when he's made of clay.
Comments (14)
As always.
I look forward to any and all comments.
May 27, 2008 9:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought the image could be "softened" a bit, to be a little bit closer to the picture it was based on with his arms not quite so high but the way it is now isn't bad at all. It has been growing on me since I read up on the controversy I have to say so perhaps it shouldn't be changed at all.
May 27, 2008 9:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Honestly, this whole story I've been following since Lei was hired. At that time, he said that he didn't have a clear idea of what the sculpture would look like, but he had an inkling. The dustup then was the fact an Chinese guy was chosen, not only over an American, but a black American. My cynic ass immediately thought, "I bet these fools want the Chinese guy to make a King Buddha." That really wouldn't surprise me.
May 27, 2008 9:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Seemed strange to me too. But the stone they chose comes from China and Lei Yixin has a lot of expertise with that specific stone and with sculptures of that size that the other candidates couldn't match so I thought it might have been a pragmatic choice. The Washington Post did claim that "the final selection was done by a mostly African American design team and was based solely on artistic ability."
May 27, 2008 10:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think the main problem is that this statue make Dr. King look like the undertaker or something, and no, I don't know what the Undertaker actually looks like. He looks like mafia muscle! All he needs is the pinstripes!
What is should be is Dr. King surrounded by all the children in his dream.
May 27, 2008 9:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry: "what it should be."
May 27, 2008 10:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
The monument is far bigger than the single scuplture of MLK. There are a lot of other sculptures of people who gave their lives in the struggle for civil rights.
May 27, 2008 10:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe his statue is pissed that it's not getting all the attention, then, because it certainly looks pissed about something.
May 27, 2008 10:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
It all goes back to the "fear of Negro rule" that dominated politics for most of this nation's history. The idea is that an angry Black man is one that's out for revenge, out to kill whitey and rape his 'women' as a form of payback.
In fact, the fear of Negro rule was the topic of the very first epic movie in history, The Birth of a Nation.
Black men aren't REAL men, so their anger can't be legitimate. If they're angry, it's cause they're out to get somebody (white). And their anger will only be asuaged when they get some type of payback (on a white person).
Remember when Hillary literally and yelled, full throat, at Obama, "Shame on you boy... uh... Barack Obama!"? People discussed her new-found assertiveness. Imagine if Obama railed against Hillary in such a manner. His political career would be over because, as one pundit would no doubt put it, "He really scared a lot of people with his anger."
May 27, 2008 10:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, sure, when he's 28 feet tall!
May 27, 2008 11:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Blackzilla!!!
May 27, 2008 11:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like sculptor Lei Yixin's Martin Luther King.
The pictures I've seen reveal a stern King, who appears to organically emerge out of the rock as if he's sort of like an avenging Angel of History, just visiting. And the style is kind of Socialist/Soviet, but I like that too. It, for me, implies the monumental largeness of King's desires and also his impatience at the wastefulness of thwarted dreams of a people and a Nation.
I think it should go up as is. No softening.
May 27, 2008 11:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like the statue, just the way it is. It's not like there wasn't anything to be angry or resolute about--what's with the Disneyfication of everything?
May 28, 2008 1:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I like the statue as it has been designed by the sculptor. It bothers me that black men always feel the need to smile ("don't worry about me! I'm not dangerous").
Lincoln is not depicted smiling; why should King?
May 29, 2008 6:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
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