Cheryl Leanza and her 5-year-old daughter were walking through a light crowd Thursday into the newest memorial on Washington's National Mall. "Do you remember what Martin Luther King did?" asked Leanza, a white mother from the Maryland suburbs outside Washington. "Gave a speech," said the girl, who starts kindergarten next week.
"He gave a famous speech," the mother replied. "Do you remember what Martin Luther King said? 'I have a dream.' ... And he told everybody to be fair." It was one of the most potent moments in US history: On August 28, 1963, Dr Martin Luther King, a Baptist preacher, stood on the steps of the memorial to former US president Abraham Lincoln, who had emancipated African slaves a century earlier. Almost 250,000 people of all races had congregated in Washington for what would be a pivotal rally for civil rights, and they heard King etch his message for equality into history. In an impassioned plea to end legal segregation, he painted the picture of a society without prejudice, with equality among all people regardless of the colour of their skin.
Five decades after his landmark oratory, King's face and words - both chiseled in stone - are again bringing people to Washington. King, who was slain in 1968 by a white sniper, is the United States' most revered advocate for civil rights and non-violence. He came to national prominence by leading a 1955 boycott of segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1964, King became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his advocacy of non-violent civil disobedience to protest segregation.
The statue and memorial in a four-hectare park, surrounded by cherry trees and monuments for wars and presidents, is an unprecedented honour for a citizen who never held public office and the first National Mall attraction dedicated to an African-American. The effort cost 120 million dollars - raised mostly through donations, in a typically American example of private initiative.
The memorial was unveiled earlier this week and has been drawing crowds every day. But now, on the eve of the long-planned formal dedication on Sunday, organisers were forced to cancel the ceremony by the onrushing threat of hurricane Irene. Sunday will be the 48th anniversary of King's "dream" speech, and authorities had expected 300,000 people to attend the formal dedication - 27 years after the idea was first proposed, 15 years after it was approved by Congress and five years after construction began.
Barack Obama, the first African-American president in US history, was to have led the ceremony. The cancellation has disappointed the tens of thousands of people who have come for the event. Organisers said in broadcast remarks that is will be rescheduled for September or even October. But the cancellation has not spoiled the joy that many visitors are taking in being able to view the long-awaited memorial.
Delores Gregory, an elderly African-American and life-long resident of Washington, visited the memorial after it was unveiled this week, with nothing but praise for the likeness achieved by the sculptor. "I thought it was beautiful," she said. "It's him ... It looked like they were trying to make the vision like he could step right out and speak." The artwork of the King memorial is finished, while the American project to achieve racial harmony and equal opportunity is a work in progress. "It's somewhat better," said Gregory, "but not to what his satisfaction would be."