This one strikes me as more than a little disturbing. The family of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reportedly demanded — and got– a payment of around $800,000 for the use of Dr. King’s words and likeness on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall.
They should give the money back.
King had a huge impact on this country and his family is fortunate for his legacy. The memorial only enhances it. It carves it in stone, if you will. The Memorial will benefit King progeny in inestimable ways for generations to come. That should be payment enough.
If this were an MLK, Jr. bobble-head doll it would be different. In that instance — in the commercialization of King — the family has every right to protect its rights. But this is a national monument, one alongside figures like Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.
One additional point. Who negotiated this with the King Family? Tweedle Dum? Does anyone think the family would have a blocked the building of the monument had the answer on the $800,000 been “no”?
There are lots of good charities out there that could use that money around now…
P.S. The whole Made-in-China thing is a bit of a bummer, too.
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