Chinese sculptor erases divisive quote from MLK memorial

Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin has finished removing a contentious phrase on the memorial for the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington at the end of the month.

The phrase came from King's "Drum Major Instinct" speech. It read: "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness."

Critics of the memorial, including the poet Maya Angelou, said the phrase did not reflect the true nature of the full quotation. The actual quotation was: "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."

The quotation was taken from a 1968 sermon that King delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, two months before he was assassinated.

Lei began removing the phrase on Monday. Officials from the National Park Service, which maintains the memorial on the National Mall, said Lei planned to carve grooves over the area where the phrase sat to match existing horizontal striation marks in the statute. Lei spoke at a news conference, using his son as his interpreter.