Controversial quote on MLK memorial to be replaced

The line "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness" will soon disappear from the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial in Washington, D.C., after a number of complaints that the inscription distorts the late civil rights leader’s words. The National Park Service began preparatory work Monday for erasing the disputed quote.

Critics have argued that the quote, from King’s "Drum Major" speech, was taken out of context, and that it distorted his meaning.

“The quote makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit,” poet Maya Angelou told the Washington Post in 2011. “He was anything but that. He was far too profound a man for that four-letter word to apply.”

King’s words in the original speech had been more nuanced: "Yes, 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."

READ THE FULL TEXT OF MARTIN LUTHER KING’S ‘DRUM MAJOR’ SPEECH

The decision to alter the sculpture was taken in December of 2012, when Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar reached an agreement with King's family, the foundation that built the memorial, and the National Park Service to remove the inscription by carving grooves over the lettering to match existing scratch marks in the sculpture.

"While our family would have of course preferred to have the entire 'Drum Major' quote used, we fully endorse and support the Secretary's proposal," King's sister, Christine King Farris, said at the time.

Sculptor Lei Yixin will begin removing the words from the stone on July 29. According to the Park Service, the sculptor had recommended the simple removal of the words as the “safest way to ensure the structural integrity of the memorial.”

The original shortening of King’s speech had been taken as a result of a design change, according to the Post. Removing it will cost between $700,000 and $900,000, the Post reports -- the entire original sculpture had been erected at a cost $120 million.

The memorial will remain open to the public during the removal, but parts will be surrounded by fencing.

Al Jazeera