After more than 2 decades of planning and construction, this memorial was finally opened to the public on August 22, 2011 which covers 4 acres of space, located on the northwest corner of the Tidal Basin, close to the Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial.
It was later dedicated on August 28, 2011, on the 48th anniversary speech of MLK; "I Have a Dream", when he delivered it from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
This is the most recent memorial and the first one to honor a non-president, and the first to honor a man of color in Washington DC area. It's a must-see trip whenever you're on tour in DC.
The memorial's centerpiece is a 30-ft. statue of MLK Jr. on which on the visible side of the statue is carved "Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope," - based from a line on his famous speech "I Have a Dream."
Past the statue on its back stands two pieces of granite boulders that are split-up, - one which symbolizes the "mountain of despair."
Literally, in between the 2 boulders which were split up is a space where people can "pass through" which are called the "mountains of despair going towards on the way to the Stone of Hope.
Right on the entrance of the memorial, you can immediately see the 450-feet long inscription wall where 14 quotes from King's speeches are inscribed. Some of the words reflected on these quotations are also based from the Bible.
