Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Gardens in Raleigh, NC is the first public park in the U.S. devoted to Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. The gardens feature a life-size sculpture of Dr. King and a 12-ton granite water monument honoring the area’s civil rights leaders.[2]
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.[5] King was the first African American and the fourth non-president honored with his own memorial in the National Mall area.[6] In 1996, Congress authorized the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, of which King is still a member, to establish a foundation to manage fundraising and design of a national memorial to King. The memorial opened in 2011[7] and is administered by the National Park Service.[8] The address of the monument, 1964 Independence Avenue, SW, commemorates the year that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law.[9]
The beginning words of King's "I Have a Dream" speech are etched on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, at the place where King stood during that speech.[11] These words from the speech—"five short lines of text carved into the granite on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial"—were etched in 2003, on the 40th anniversary of the march to Washington, by stone carver Andy Del Gallo, after a law was passed by Congress providing authorization for the inscription.[12]
On October 11, 2015, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a proposed "Freedom Bell" may be installed atop Stone Mountain honoring King and his "I Have a Dream" speech, specifically the line "Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia."[14]
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco is located behind a waterfall, which is the largest fountain on the West Coast.[citation needed] The King memorial consists of large, etched glass excerpts of King's speeches in the languages of San Francisco's sister cities, and also includes a large green space where performance arts events are held throughout the year. The entire memorial was a collaborative project between Sculptor Houston Conwill, Poet Estella Majoza and Architect Joseph De Pace. The memorial is located on the gardens' second block, between Howard and Folsom Streets, which was opened in 1998, with a dedication to Martin Luther King, Jr. by Mayor Willie Brown.
A memorial bust of Martin Luther King, Jr., which was approved by the King family, was officially unveiled at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park at Plant Riverside District in Savannah, Georgia on January 15, 2022.[19] The bronze bust on a granite base is the first memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. in Savannah.[20]
Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Statue at King's Quad courtyard next to the King’s Hall of Newcastle University in North East England: A bronze statue was unveiled in November 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.'s visit to the university to accept an honorary degree.[21]
