The King Memorial ... outsourced to China?

The decision to name a Chinese sculptor, who lives in mainland China and is known for his sculptures of Chairman Mao, to design and sculpt the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. planned in Washington D.C. has prompted a rising storm of protest.

Gilbert Young is a legendary black artist who grew up in Cincinnati, and now lives in Atlanta. He has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the decision by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation to hire Lei Yixin. Young has created a website, King Is Ours, that has become the Internet epicenter of the protests.

“It’s one of the most immoral acts I could think of,” Young tells CL. “If an all-white organization had chosen an Asian person of another country to do this sculpture, Jesse Jackson and everybody else would’ve been in the streets. Instead they’ve been quiet, giving this a pass. Well, I’m not.”

Young says the foundation is comprised of members of Alpha Phi Alpha, one of the country’s oldest African-American fraternities. The foundation originally selected sculptor (and the first black astronaut) Ed Dwight to design the memorial that will reside along the Tidal Basin between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials. But Dwight was removed from the project over creative differences.

Dwight thinks something deeper was at hand. He told the Los Angeles Times that he was told the foundation hopes the choice of a Chinese sculptor will persuade the Chinese government to give $25 million to the King Memorial fund, which needs to raise $100 million.

A spokeswoman for the foundation told the Times there have been no discussions with the Chinese government, and no donations.