Martin Luther King Jr. was lauded for his humility, so it’s no surprise that
a boastful quote paraphrased from one of his speeches and inscribed on the brand
new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. came under
fire. King supporters such as poet and author Maya Angelou and King’s son Martin
Luther King III have complained that the quote is inaccurate and makes the slain civil rights leader sound arrogant. But just in time for his 83rd birthday, King will be honored with a correction. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar ordered a fix to the mangled quotation on
Friday, calling for the memorial foundation’s input within 30 days for a better
substitute. The offending quote currently inscribed in the 30-foot-tall granite
monument is:

“I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”

It’s a far cry from – and far fewer words than – the original message, which
King famously delivered in an Atlanta sermon two months before his 1968
assassination.

“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.”

It’s clear that the inscription was paraphrased from the original quotation,
which designers said was too long to fit. But the dropped words were not the
issue; the context was. The quotation was famously slammed shortly after the
Memorial’s unveiling, first in a Washington Post editorial and later in
comments from Maya Angelou, who served as an advisor for the memorial. “The
quote makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit,” Angelou told the
Washington Post. “He was anything but that. He was far too profound a
man for that four-letter word to apply.”

And after months of consideration, Salazar seems inclined to agree with
Angelou. “I do not think it’s an accurate portrayal of what Dr. King was,” Salazar said in a statement.

Some things aren’t set in stone – even if they are set in
stone.