WASHINGTON — The selection of a Chinese sculptor to carve a three-story monument to Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall is raising questions about what part of his legacy should be celebrated.
A loose-knit but growing group of critics says a black artist — or at least an American — should have been chosen to create the King memorial between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials in the nation’s capital. They have been joined by human rights advocates who say King would have abhorred the Chinese government’s record on religious and civil liberty.
“They keep saying King was for everyone. I keep telling people, ‘No, King wasn’t for everyone. King was for fairness and justice,”‘ said Gilbert Young, a black painter from Atlanta who has started a Web site and a petition drive to try to change the project.
“I believe that black artists have the right to interpret ourselves first,” Young said. “If nobody steps up to the plate to do that, then certainly pass it along to someone else.”
In a telephone interview Friday from Hunan province in central China, Lei said he was honored to have been chosen and was aware of the controversy.
“I deeply understand because Martin Luther King is a hero for black Americans,” he said.
But, he added, “Martin Luther King hoped that everyone would be brothers and sisters no matter the color of their skin or their social status, that they would all enjoy the same opportunities and rights. … I want my sculpture to show that Martin Luther King fought for democracy.”
Thanks to Jon McClure
for ALL the great things the past presidents have said and DONE.
Have ANY of our current politicians READ any of it? DO they understand IT…
This is like someone calling THEMSELVES a theologian and only knowing 1 religion, and NOT even reading the others.
Doesn’t the fact that its a Chinese artist at least in some shape, matter, or form realize the famous “I have a dream” speech? The point is the NOT be hung up on race. I hope the sculptor that’s been chosen makes something so beautiful that his detractors will feel stupid for having ever said anything.
Perhaps someone should ask this “Gilbert Young, a black painter from Atlanta” what he would think if someone would demand that the famous white people’s monuments should have been sculpted by white people only, how ‘fair’ would it appear to him, and would he ““believe that white artists have the right to interpret themselves first,” ?
What a freaking black racist pig.
King was not a hero for black americans.
He was an American Hero PERIOD
It doesn’t matter who does it. But it would have been NICE if a citizen of the US would do it.
But US citizens have little time to spare between beer and TV.
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#4 What’s the problem?
Award the sculptor some honorary US citizenship 😉
I don’t know if he was chosen because his work is that good, or because he is the cheapest they could find, but if the selection was based on the quality of artist’s work then it shouldn’t matter that he is not American.
What if he becomes the most famous living sculptor in the world, and moves to america and becomes US citizen in the future – wouldn’t you feel stupid for rejecting his work? 😉
Shit, they probably could have found a wetback to do it for half of what they paid the chink.
It can be said that only an outsider can see things clearly
Yet this is a most simple and profound example of oursourcing
In several generations our grandchildren may be able to purchase goods inexpensively
Problem is that they will have no jobs and no funds to buy these goods.
#7 Problem is that they will have no jobs and no funds to buy these goods.
No jobs? Oh no, we’re all going to die! The Chinese are coming run for the hills! We can’t adapt! There’s nothing we can do! Our grandchildren are all going to be idiots!
Is that what you’re saying or do I exaggerate? You don’t actually believe that do you?
Ah, I remember a day — not long ago — when a story like this would have been taken as a hopeful experience of cross cultural brotherhood.
Now it’s viewed with hostility as outsourcing.
I liked those other times better.
OK, guys, let’s start a list. Item 1: Lady Liberty is FRENCH. Next?
Aaah, I call ‘bullshit’ on this story. It’s obviously a fabrication, since Marxist PC has taught us that black people are not capable of racism, only whites.
I mean, since the Chinese govt does not-nice things, then any Chinese citizen, such as sculptor-man here, is directly responsible for those things. Makes perfect sense, right?
Mr. Young is a Politically Correct racist and is utterly blind to the ironic hypocrisy he’s promoting. Crikey!®™
But that hypocrisy is one of the defining characteristics of PC; different rules and different standards for different groups. Racial discrimination by whites = unacceptable, but racial discrimination by blacks = acceptable. Completely logical and fair, kamerad.
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“Yet this is a most simple and profound example of oursourcing”
No it isn’t. This isn’t about a Chinese worker making a commercial product for sale in America at lower cost, it’s about selecting an artist on the basis of artistic talent, which, as the photo shows clearly, Mr. Lei has in abundance. As Tina Turner almost said, ‘What’s outsourcing got to do with it?’
#3, comrade,
It doesn’t matter what the person’s race or skin color might be. The point is there is a foreign national, with no ties to America, creating a memorial to an American hero to be displayed in a reverent American setting in the American capitol. Maybe it matters nothing to you, but to Americans it does.
I don’t think many other nationalities would approve of an American creating a national monument celebrating someone in their capitol. If this monument was to sit in downtown Selma, it wouldn’t matter.
#11, tkane,
If you mean Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La liberté éclairant le monde), known more commonly as the Statue of Liberty , it was a gift to America from the French people to America to honor the centennial of independence. Americans paid to have the monument erected.
Wasn’t Washingotn DC designed by a Frenchman?
MLK was given the Nobel Peace Prize, and is an international figure who himself took inspiration from Gandhi. Awarding to a Chinaman sculptor is perfectly acceptable, expecially since he comes from a country without voting rights.
13, read the article again. The RACE and SKIN COLOR is what primarily bothers them about choosing the Chinese (instead of a local black) artist.
#5… you don’t read very well do you?
I said it would be NICE IF it were from a US citizen.
That implies IF possible good, if not OH WELL no biggie!
Reading Comprehension… it is not just for school age people!
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#16 i think you should say it to YOURSELF.
You are barking at wrong tree or/and you don’t read very well either.
I recommend taking some ESL classes…
#6
Do you work for Abercrombie & Fitch?
And yet, if you say that only a white artist should make a statue of George Washington they’ll picket your house and call you a racist pig.
That’s an interesting statue of Mike Tyson in the picture there, I wonder what his statue of Dr. King will look like?
#15, Idiot,
I did read the article and agree. So much in fact compare this article quote and what I wrote.
… Although the $100 million project is financed with private donations, they said citizens should have a say because the monument is being built on public land.
Public land. On The Mall in Washington DC. My capitol city. A place where American heroes are memorialized. A place of national meaning to Americans. Using granite from China.
His skin color, sex, age, religion, and / or eye color means nothing. My concern is about his nationality. Gee, the third paragraph in the article,:
A loose-knit but growing group of critics says a black artist — or at least an American — should have been chosen to create the King memorial between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials in the nation’s capital.
The sculptor knows very little about King. He gave this comment,
… I want my sculpture to show that Martin Luther King fought for democracy.” King didn’t fight for democracy. He fought for EQUALITY, and JUSTICE.
Effen moran.
americans have been told for years that education is dangerously liberal, art is useless, that science is immoral, and that funding for schools is wasteful
what the hell did you expect? to raise a generation of geniuses?
duh — thanks to american conservatives we are raising an generation of people to stupid to think for themselves that will be woefully dependent on foreigners for everything
way to go!!!! hooraay!!!
I guess no one really read the article…
“Lei, designated a master sculptor by the Chinese government, is one of nine artists in the field who are considered national treasures in China. He has carved monuments to many of the country’s national figures…”
So I guess being one of the nine artists in China who specialize in this has nothing to do with it (btw…this is out of a billion people in that country too)…? That would make him top 0.0000000001 percentile, kind of makes him talented doesn’t it…?
Besides…who is this Gilbert Young and why does it even matter what he thinks? None of his artwork are national monuments… They are okay, but nothing grand…
“The memorial foundation directing the project seems surprised at the criticism. Ten of the 12 people on the committee that chose the sculptor, Lei Yixin, are black.”
I guess people always just have to hate on something…