Jo Reed:  I'm Josephine Reed from the National Endowment for the Arts with The Chairman's Corner, a weekly podcast with Mary Anne Carter, Chairman of the Arts Endowment. This is where we'll discuss issues of importance to the arts community and a whole lot more. 

Mary Anne, I know today, you wanted to talk about the intersection of history and art—particularly the art of public monuments….

Mary Anne: Yes, Jo I do…and I want to begin with the beautiful memorial dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. located in Washington, DC which is the first to honor an African American individual on the National Mall.  Monday, the 18th of course, is the national observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, a chance to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King and his message.  That message, as stated in the vision statement for his memorial, “eloquently affirms the commanding tenants of the American Dream – Freedom, Democracy and Opportunity for All.”

Cool fact. The official address of the memorial is 1964 Independence Ave. SW, in recognition of Dr. King’s pivotal role in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Jo: Mary Anne—Not everyone has had the opportunity to visit the memorial, why don’t you describe it?

Mary Anne: It’s stunning. The main entrance of the memorial from Independence Ave. takes visitors through two large slabs of rock called the Mountain of Despair. From there you walk to the 30-foot tall Stone of Hope with its imposing sculpture of Dr. King seeming to emerge from the rock. His arms are crossed, one hand grasps a rolled document, and with furrowed brow, and penetrating vision, he looks steadily to the horizon.

The two sets of rock represent a line from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech when he says, “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”

Surrounding the statue of Dr. King is a 450-foot long Inscription Wall, with 14 quotes taken from his speeches, sermons and other writings, adding an important literary component to the sculptural and architectural elements. Once past the Stone of Hope, visitors come to a beautiful plaza, wide open to the sky and the surrounding vista.
 Harry E. Johnson, the president and CEO of the memorial foundation said, “The King Memorial is envisioned as a quiet and peaceful space. Yet drawing from Dr. King's speeches and using his own rich language, the King Memorial will almost certainly change the heart of every person who visits.” 

And that’s the incredible thing about the arts, they can pull us out of ourselves and provide a place of beauty, nobility, and healing to reflect on our thoughts and emotions.

Jo Reed:  Mary Anne, Thank you….

Mary Anne Carter: Thank you, Jo.

Jo Reed:  That was Mary Anne Carter Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.  Keep up with the arts endowment by going to arts.gov or by following us on twitter @neaarts.

For the National Endowment for the Arts, I’m Josephine Reed. Stay safe and thanks for listening.

Music Credit: “Renewal” composed and performed by Doug Smith from the cd The Collection.