Maya Angelou criticizes passage on King memorial!

[Sunshine]

One of the inscriptions reads: "I was a drum major for justice peace and righteousness."

Angelou says the passage was edited from a 1968 sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and an important clause was taken out.

King's original words were: "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

Many old southern plantations are now tourist attractions. But one thing you will never see is the slave cemetery. They have either been dozed over or something built on top of them, but the slave cemetery is not part of the show.

My family's slaves did not leave, they stayed on until they died and were buried in their cemetery next to our family cemetery. My grandfather knew them and loved them. He was adamant that our slave cemetery be well kept. It still is even though he had been dead half a century now. The markers are still there and my cousins who live near it mow it fathfully. One thing I have wanted to do to honor my grandfather and those people he loved is to put a monument on our slave cemetery. As yet, I have not done so. And this is part of the reason. My black friends say it would be a nice thing to do. But there are many others who would be indignant over such a good will gesture.

Maya Angelou criticizes passage on King memorial - CNN.com

 

[syrenn]

Just amazing.

Not only does the monstrosity not look like king. The paraphrased quote... is a misquote.

 

[Sunshine]

Just amazing.

Not only does the monstrosity not look like king. The paraphrased quote... is a misquote.

Actually, any time you paraphrase a quote, it is not the same as the original and, therefore, a misquote. I would be very curious to know who chose the writing and the monument.

 

[Tank]

It should have said: "I be a drum major for justice peace and righteousness."

 

[syrenn]

I think it simply should have said "I have a dream"

 

[Sunshine]

It is unclear if the architect, Jackson, is African American. He is from a black neighborhood, so it seems he could be. It seems there were several people involved in selecting the quotes, and it would seem someone would have said something before now.

 

[syrenn]

It is unclear if the architect, Jackson, is African American. He is from a black neighborhood, so it seems he could be. It seems there were several people involved in selecting the quotes, and it would seem someone would have said something before now.

I don't know... but if they did not say anything about how it looked... i cant imagine then had enough brains to say something about what was quoted.

 

[Obamerican]

The South sucks. End of story. Their accents makes them sound like in breeders and their acceptance of slavery has been a blight on this country for centuries. I lived in Mississippi for over a year in the military and I was amazed that most of the white people thought they were better than the blacks. On top of that they have to be FORCED to quit flying the Confederate flag, uh, the flag of LOSERS!!! Holy shit, I live in the State of Washington and my neighbor is a wannabe Confederate flag waver. BTW, he's a fucking moron. His hair is PURPLE!!!

 

[Sunshine]

It is unclear if the architect, Jackson, is African American. He is from a black neighborhood, so it seems he could be. It seems there were several people involved in selecting the quotes, and it would seem someone would have said something before now.

I don't know... but if they did not say anything about how it looked... i cant imagine then had enough brains to say something about what was quoted.

I think Jackson was most likely African American. So who should have designed it instead? A white architect? It is hard for me to believe that his family wasn't involved every step of the way. Now here comes Angelou grousing about it.