C’mon Irene! Dedication of Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial delayed by hurricane

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Let freedom ring… from Stone Mountain in Georgia… to the "Stone of Hope" on the National Mall.

The long-planned dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on Sunday, August 28, 2011 has been canceled due to hurricane Irene. It will be rescheduled to a date yet to be determined.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. released the following statement about Dedication Day. Dedicate The Dream:

Thank you for coming back this evening for a further update on our Dedication plans. In consultation with the National Park Service, the Mayor’s office and FEMA, it is with a heavy heart and enormous disappointment that we announce that, in the interest of public safety, we are forced to change our plans.

Here is the new schedule. First, the Friday schedule will continue as planned. Second, on Saturday we will hold the National Prayer Service at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This will be the final official event of the Dedication week.

We have worked with the Park Service to ensure that the Memorial will be open to the public, weather permitting, on Saturday. The Memorial will be open Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 12 noon.

Finally, the official Dedication ceremony will be moved to a date yet determined in September or October. We will announce those details when we have them. For now, we wanted to make sure you had this information as soon as possible.

So many worked tirelessly to dedicate the dream and make this Memorial a reality. We owe a special debt of gratitude to the Foundation staff, our generous sponsors, and to you, the public.

In the words of Dr. King, “we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” With that in mind, let’s remember the spirit of the Memorial – justice, democracy, hope and love.

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For more information about the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, please visit www.dedicatethedream.org.

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You can take a virtual tour of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in this video.