Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Opens in Washington, D.C.: Photos

A monument more than 20 years in the making that celebrates the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. was unveiled this week on the National Mall. Inspired by a famous line from King’s legendary “I Have a Dream” speech (“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope”), the memorial features a 30-foot-high statue of the civil rights leader, two pieces of granite that represent the struggles he endured and a crescent-shaped wall inscribed with quotations from his sermons and addresses. Cherry trees planted on the site will bloom each April, the month King was assassinated in 1968. The memorial will be dedicated on Sunday, August 28, the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and the “I Have a Dream” speech.