The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated on October 16, with President Barack Obama and his family in attendance. The memorial honors the life and work of the famed American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in 1968.

The Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial

The entrance to the memorial consists of two towering granite blocks, which represent the “Mountain of Despair.” Beyond is a 30-foot (9-meter) carving of King, called the “Stone of Hope.” Both “Mountain of Despair” and “Stone of Hope” are from King’s famous “I have a dream” speech: “With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”

Additional World Book articles:

• African Americans
• Civil Right Movement
• March on Washington
• Back in Time (Civil rights 1968)