FACT SHEET

HISTORY
On September 28, 1996 the U.S. House of Representatives passed Joint Resolution 70 authorizing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a memorial in Washington, DC to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Senate followed by passing Joint Resolution 426 on October 3, 1996, and on July 16, 1998, President Clinton signed a Joint Congressional Resolution authorizing the building of a memorial.

LOCATION
Situated on a four-acre site along the Tidal Basin, the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial will be adjacent to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial and on a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.

DESIGN
In December 1999, the Foundation formed an international panel of architects and designers to develop and coordinate the program of requirements for the Memorial. The design competition attracted more than 1,900 registrants and over 900 submissions were received from architects, landscape architects, students, sculptors, and professors representing 52 countries around the world. In September 2000, Entry #1403 by ROMA Design Group of San Francisco was selected was the winning design. Then in 2006, Master Sculptor Lei Yixin was named Sculptor of Record. The sculptor is charged with the task of capturing not only the likeness of Dr. King, but his essence and spirit as well. Finally, the McKissack & McKissack / Turner Construction / Tompkins Builders / Gilford Corporation Design–Build Joint Venture was selected as the contractor for the project in 2007.

VISION
The Memorial will evoke the memory and spiritual presence of Dr. King. It will honor not only a great man, but the values that empowered his leadership, including courage and truth, unconditional love and forgiveness, justice and equality, reconciliation and peace.

COST
Although construction has commenced, completion of the Memorial is contingent upon the Foundation’s "Build the Dream" campaign raising the estimated $120 million required to build and maintain the Memorial. The Memorial Foundation has raised more than $114 million of the goal.

LEADERSHIP
The Foundation is chaired by Global Group Vice President, General Motors Corporation Gary Cowger; former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young; Senior Advisor, General Motors Corporation John T. Montford, and in memory of Coretta Scott King. The Executive Leadership Cabinet (ELC) is comprised of the following members: David Bell, Operating Advisor, Pegasus Capital Advisors; Philippe P. Dauman, President and CEO, VIACOM; Suzanne de Passe, Chair and CEO, de Passe Entertainment; George Foreman, CEO, Foreman, Inc.; Dr. Robert M. Franklin, President, Morehouse College; Earl G. Graves, Chairman and CEO, Black Enterprise Magazine; William H. Gray, III, Chairman, The Amani Group; H. Edward Hanway, Chairman and CEO, CIGNA Corporation; The Honorable Alexis M. Herman, 23rd U.S. Labor Secretary & Chair and CEO, New Ventures, Inc.; Thomas J. Hilfiger, Principal Designer, Tommy Hilfiger USA; Joel Horowitz, Co-Founder, Tommy Hilfiger Corporation; Chad A. Jester, President, Nationwide Foundation; Sheila C. Johnson, CEO, Salamander Hospitality, LLC.; Vernon Jordan, Esq., Senior Managing Director, Lazard Freres & Company, LLC; in memory of The Honorable Jack Kemp, Founder and Chairman, Kemp Partners; Victor B. MacFarlane, Managing Principal, MacFarlane Partners; J.W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc.; Emilio Pardo, Chief Brand Officer, AARP; Dr. William F. Pickard, Chairman and CEO, Vitec, LLC; General Colin L. Powell, USA (Retired); Franklin D. Raines, Director, Revolution Health Group; Henry Schleiff, President and General Manager, Investigation Discovery; Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman and CEO, VERIZON Communications; Russell Simmons, Chairman and CEO, Rush Communications; Daniel Snyder, Owner, NFL Washington Redskins; David Stern, NBA Commissioner; Dale A. Stinton, Executive Vice President and CEO, National Association of Realtors; in memory of Jack Valenti, Former Chairman and CEO, Motion Picture Association; J.C. Watts, Jr., President and CEO, J.C. Watts Companies; and Dr. Robert L. Wright, Chairman, Flight Explorer.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Roderick Gillum is the Chairman of the Board and Guy Vickers is the Vice Chairman. Board members include: David Drummond, Vice President, Corporate Development & General Counsel, Google, Inc.; Arthur Fleming, First Vice President and Director, Community Investment Services Federal Home Loan Bank Atlanta; Steven R. Gursky, Partner, Olshan, Grundman, Frome, Rosenzweig & Wolosky, LLP; Frank Jenkins, CEO, Jenkins & Associates, Inc.; in memory of The Honorable Jack Kemp, Founder & Chairman, Kemp Partners; The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy, U.S. Congressman; Herman “Skip” Mason, General President, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Reverend Joe Ratliff, Pastor, Brentwood Baptist Church; George N. Reaves, Treasurer, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Frank Russell, Jr., Retired Executive, AXA; Mari Snyder, Communications Director, Community Relations & Corporate Projects, Marriott International, Inc.; Caryl M. Stern, Chief Operating Officer, US Fund for UNICEF; Vivian R. Pickard, President, GM Foundation; Robert Wingo, President & CEO, Sanders/Wingo Advertising and Chris C. Womack, Senior Vice President, Southern Company Generation.

PRESIDENTS’ COUNCIL
President George H. W. Bush; President Jimmy Carter; President Bill Clinton; Nancy Reagan (representing President Ronald Reagan); and in memory of Lady Bird Johnson (representing President Lyndon B. Johnson).

CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
The Congressional Committee, which is still in formation, currently consists of 250 Members of Congress. To review the list, visit www.buildthedream.org

DREAM TEAM
Laila Ali, Muhammad Ali, Dr. Maya Angelou, Clarence Avant, Angela Bassett, Richard Brooks, Chris Brown, Roger Aaron Brown, Tommy Davidson, Suzzanne Douglas, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds, Laurence Fishburne, Antwone Fisher, Harrison Ford, George Foreman, Vivica A. Fox, Morgan Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg, Dennis Haysbert, Dule Hill, Dustin Hoffman, Ernie Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson, Anne Marie Johnson, Patti La Belle, Walt “Baby” Love-Shaw, Peter Max, Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete, Joseph C. Phillips, Paul Pierce, James Reynolds, Lionel Ritchie, Al Roker, Victoria Rowell, Deborah and Carlos Santana, Oz Scott, Martin Sheen, Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue, Tavis Smiley, Jerry Stackhouse, Sean Patrick Thomas, Lorraine Touissant, Dr. Debbye Turner, Dionne Warwick, Chris Webber and Brad Whitford.

HOW TO DONATE
All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. The Foundation is a 501[c] (3) organization.