Norton Eschews Nostalgia in Tour of Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Site with Secretary Salazar and Mayor Gray on Thursday

Statement

As the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday approaches Monday, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Mayor Vincent Gray will inspect progress on the construction of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial today, January 13, at 2:00 p.m. Construction on the four-acre memorial site, which sits on the northeast corner of the Tidal Basin adjacent to the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson memorials, began in December 2009 and is scheduled for completion later this year. Members of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, including its president, Harry E. Johnson, Sr., will join Norton on the tour.

"This memorial is not simply a monument to nostalgia or an occasion to remember my days in the civil rights movement," said Norton. "I will walk the King memorial at a time of senseless loss for our country and as one of my colleagues has become the living manifestation of King's plea for peace, civility and love. I look forward to seeing the progress made since the memorial's groundbreaking and anticipate with great joy its completion."

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