At 30-feet-tall, the sculpture at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is opened to the public for the first time on the National Mall August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC.

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Harry Johnson (R), president and CEO of the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, delivers remarks during the opening of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC. The memorial to the American civil rights pioneer will be dedicated on August 28, the 48th anniversary of King's historic 'I Have A Dream' …

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At 30-feet-tall, the sculpture at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is opened to the public for the first time on the National Mall August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC.

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At 30-feet-tall, the sculpture at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is opened to the public for the first time on the National Mall August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC.

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Harry Johnson (R), president and CEO of the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, and Master Sculptor Lei Yixin (4th R) walk through the 'Mountain of Despair' section of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial the morning it was opened to the public for the first time on the National Mall August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC.

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Fifteen years after Congress authorized the memorial, the 30-foot-tall statue of the American civil rights pioneer will be dedicated on August 28, the 48th anniversary of King's historic 'I Have A Dream' speech.

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As seen from the east end of the memorial, the 30-feet-tall sculpture at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was opened to the public for the first time on the National Mall August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC. Fifteen years after Congress authorized the memorial, the statue of the American civil rights pioneer will be dedicated on August 28, the 48th anniversary of King's historic 'I Have A …

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Fifteen years after Congress authorized the memorial, the 30-foot-tall statue of the American civil rights pioneer will be dedicated on August 28, the 48th anniversary of King's historic 'I Have A Dream' speech.

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A 450-foot long inscription wall featuring 14 quotations from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. runs in an arc through the King Memorial on the National Mall August 22, 2011 in Washington, DC.

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The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is the newest memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Fifteen years after Congress authorized the memorial, the 30-foot-tall statue of the American civil rights pioneer will be dedicated on August 28, the 48th anniversary of King's historic 'I Have A Dream' speech.

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