Thousands of people spanning all ages and races honored thelegacy of the nation's foremost civil rights leader during Sunday's formaldedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington.
Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni and President BarackObama were among those who attended the more than four-hour ceremony. King'schildren and other leaders spoke before the president, invoking his "IHave a Dream" speech and calling upon a new generation to help fullyrealize that dream.
Some in the crowd arrived as early as 5 a.m., and the crowdeventually overflowed beyond the park gates. Some women wore large Sunday hatsfor the occasion.
The president arrived late morning with his wife and twodaughters, which drew loud cheers from those watching his entrance on largescreens.
Cherry Hawkins traveled from Houston with her cousins andarrived at 6 a.m. to be part of the dedication. They postponed earlier plans toattend the August dedication, which was postponed because of Hurricane Irene.
"I wanted to do this for my kids and grandkids,"Hawkins said. She expects the memorial will be in their history books someday."They can say, 'Oh, my granny did that.'"
Hawkins, her cousin DeAndrea Cooper and Cooper's daughterBrittani Jones, 23, visited the King Memorial on Saturday after joining a marchwith the Rev. Al Sharpton to urge Congress to pass a jobs bill.
"You see his face in the memorial, and it's kind of anemotional moment," Cooper said. "It's beautiful. They did a wonderfuljob."
A stage for speakers and thousands of folding chairs wereset up on a field near the memorial along with large TV screens. Most of the10,000 chairs set out appeared to be full. Many other people were standing.
The August ceremony had been expected to draw 250,000,though organizers anticipated about 50,000 for Sunday's event.
Actress Cicely Tyson said her contemporaries are passing thetorch to a new generation and passed the microphone to 12-year-old AmandlaStenberg. The girl recalled learning about the civil rights movement in schooland named four young girls killed in a 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Ala.
"As Dr. King said at their funeral, 'They didn't livelong lives, but they lived meaningful lives,'" Amandla said. "I planto live a meaningful life, too."
About 1.5 million people are estimated to have visited the30-foot-tall statue of King and the granite walls where 14 of his quotationsare carved in stone. The memorial is the first on the National Mall honoring ablack leader.
The sculpture of King with his arms crossed appears toemerge from a stone extracted from a mountain. It was carved by Chinese artistLei Yixin. The design was inspired by a line from the famous "I Have aDream" speech in 1963: "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone ofhope."
King's "Dream" speech during the March onWashington galvanized the civil rights movement.
King's older sister, Christine King Farris, said shewitnessed a baby become "a great hero to humanity." She said thememorial will ensure her brother's legacy will provide a source of inspirationworldwide for generations.
To young people in the crowd, she said King's message isthat "Great dreams can come true and America is the place where you canmake it happen."
King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, said her family isproud to witness the memorial's dedication. She said it was a long time comingand had been a priority for her mother, Coretta Scott King, who died in 2006.
Bernice King and her brother Martin Luther King III saidtheir father's dream is not yet realized. Martin Luther King III said thenation has "lost its soul" when it tolerates vast economicdisparities, teen bullying, and having more people of color in prison than incollege.
He said the memorial should serve as a catalyst to renew hisfather's fight for social and economic justice.
"The problem is the American dream of 50 years ago ...has turned into a nightmare for millions of people" who have lost theirjobs and homes, King said.
The nation's first black president, who was just 6 years oldwhen King was assassinated in 1968, saluted King as a man who pushed the nationtoward what it ought to be and changed hearts and minds at the same time.
"He had faith in us," Obama said. "And thatis why he belongs on this Mall: Because he saw what we might become."
Giovanni read her poem "In the Spirit of Martin,"and Franklin sang.
Early in the ceremony, during a rendition of "LiftEvery Voice and Sing," the crowd cheered when images on screen showedObama on the night he won the 2008 presidential election.
Obama, who credits King with paving his way to the WhiteHouse, left a copy of his inaugural speech in a time capsule at the monumentsite. He said King was a man who "stirred our conscience" and madethe Union "more perfect."
But the Rev. Al Sharpton said the dedication was not aboutObama but the ongoing fight for justice. He called for people from around theworld to walk through the stone of hope and emerge to see "the face thatbrought us from the back of the bus to the White House."