Washington — A scant half-mile from where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and urged a divided nation to complete the work of the great emancipator, ground was broken Monday for a monument to King's place in American history.
From across the political spectrum, dignitaries gathered to mark the moment and reflect on King's legacy. They included former President Bill Clinton, who signed legislation to create the monument, and President Bush, who declared, "An assassin's bullet cannot shatter the dream. It continues to inspire millions around the world."
But among the most visibly moved among the thousands at the site on the National Mall was one who shared the podium with King when his "I Have a Dream" speech gave momentum to the movement for new civil rights laws.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a leader of the 1963 March on Washington that culminated in King's speech, broke down in tears as he held a groundbreaking shovel.
"It's unreal. It's so fitting and appropriate," the Atlanta Democrat said of the ceremony. "Out of all the people that spoke that day, I'm the only one who is still around."
Also on hand were several of King's children, who this year laid to rest their mother, Coretta Scott King, near their father's tomb at the King Center in Atlanta.
"My mother reminded us on so many occasions that my father just wanted to be a great pastor," the Rev. Bernice A. King, the civil rights leaders' daughter. "Little did he know he would be a great pastor to the world."
Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, both former King deputies, and other leaders of the civil rights movement listened as Bush spoke of the importance of the monument's location, flanked by the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial.
"It will unite a man who declared the promise of America and the man who defended the promise of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America," Bush said.
Also attending the ceremony were luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, poet Maya Angelou, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger — a major donor to the project.
"I am who I am because of Dr. King and his hope for this country," Winfrey, the billionaire talk-show queen, said as she arrived at the ceremony.
Fifty students from across the country who won an essay contest, including 18-year-old Natasha Lawson of Augusta State University, also took part in the event.
"He's done so much [for America]," Lawson said. "He would really appreciate this."
The 4-acre monument has been in the works for more than a decade. In 1996, Clinton signed legislation proposing creation of the monument, and in 1999, it won a coveted place on the Mall.
In 2003, concerns about plans for a host of new memorials led Congress to declare the Mall a completed work of civic art, and lawmakers imposed a moratorium on new construction. But the effort for the King memorial overcame the objections, and in 2005, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Project Foundation launched a drive that has so far raised at least $65.5 million.
One more obstacle remains to the construction of the monument: raising the remainder of the estimated $100 million cost, a project Hilfiger and hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons are helping to lead.
Harry Johnson, president of the foundation, said he hopes construction will be completed by spring 2008.
The entrance to the memorial will include a central sculpture called "The Mountain of Despair." Recalling King's call in his 1963 speech to "hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope," it is split to signify the racially and socially divided American that inspired King's nonviolent efforts.
Obama, who has said he is considering a presidential run in 2008, imagined bringing his two young children to the memorial when it is completed and passing through the mountain.
"He never did live to see the promised land from that mountaintop," Obama said. "But he pointed the way for us."
Niches around the monument grounds will honor others who, like King, gave their lives to the cause of equality.
"This is not a one-man movement," said Young as those gathered around him gripped shovels. "As we turn the dirt on this ground, let us go back to our communities and turn the dirt."
The Associated Press contributed comments from Sen. Barack Obama.
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