MLK Holiday, my brush with history...

(CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM)

I shot these images when they were setting up the dedication ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial a few years ago in 2003. The memorial is carved right into the marble, on the exact stair where Dr. King delivered his most famous speech, “I had a dream”. I was the first non-worker to see this memorial as it was covered by a blue cloth. Park Rangers were present to guard the memorial and to prevent anyone from seeing it before the ceremony. A divine wind somehow moved the cover exposing the carved-in-stone speech, by happenstance, I just happened to be standing there. I got the shot quickly, the first one by anyone, then just as suddenly, the cover fell back down before anyone else got the shot. I went back up the stairs to the President Lincoln sculpture, and again luck was on my side. Before I could clear the area per the orders of the Park Rangers, Coretta Scott King walked out of the elevator right past me, and I got the shot that you see here. It was a quick responsive shot with no time for any adjustments or setup.

After the dedication I went downstairs to the Lincoln Memorial Museum. I met a man there who I chatted with while we watched videos of history, and photos that were on exhibit. I do not know why, his knowledge, his insight, but I just turned and asked him, "did you know Dr. King?" He looked right at me and said, "yes I did. I marched with him, and I am the last man still living that gave a speech that day with Dr. King, right there on the steps of the memorial. I am Congressman John Lewis." This took me back a little, this new and very interesting meeting by happenstance again! I started to feel that I was supposed to shoot this dedication, whether I chose to or not. I only had my rangefinder film camera at the time. My brush with history was a memorable occasion!

Coretta Scott King

Congressman John Lewis