One stop on the nighttime bus tour that we took in DC was the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial.
There are few places that strike awe in my heart these days but this is one of them. It’s a newer memorial, opened in 2011, and one that I had not seen. Visiting at night was a great choice.
Visitors approach through two enormous boulders called the Mountain of Despair, emerging to find themselves facing an enormous rock called the Stone of Hope. Walk around that boulder and you’ll find the likeness of Dr. King breaking through the stone. It’s as though he is stepping out of the rock and into a realm of freedom.
He stares across the Tidal Basin, looking toward none else than the Jefferson Memorial. The Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial are visible from here too.
At thirty feet tall, Dr. King is imposing and the expression on his face is one of determination. At least, that’s how I see it.
A 450 foot inscription wall surrounds Dr. King and features fourteen quotes from his sermons, speeches and other writings. Justice, democracy, hope and love are the themes here and the guiding principles that are his legacy these 53 years after his death.
I especially appreciate when memorials use the person’s own words to relate their story.
Perhaps it was the lighting and the darkness playing tricks on my eyes but it appeared he could begin speaking or even take a step forward at any minute.
I stood in awe of this man who was larger than life in his lifetime and who has been immortalized as a giant among men all these years later. So many times I have wondered how different our world might be if not for that terrible day an assassin’s bullet silenced this brilliant soul at the Lorraine Motel .
This memorial is open 24 hours but note that it isn’t super well lit. That makes it a little hard to read some of the inscriptions but it also makes the experience of seeing the big picture here feel even more significant.
My solution? Go at night and during the day! I didn’t see this one up close in the daylight but can promise you that these places are always drastically different night and day and certainly worth a trip both times.
