Would Dr. King Have Been Upset About This?

There's an interesting kerfuffle going on in Washington with the announcement that the sculpture for the new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial will be done by Lei Yixin, a name that doesn't sound like it came from the 'hood. Mr. Yixin is a Chinese national who is apparently pretty good at his craft, but as you can imagine, the usual suspects are upset:

A loose-knit but growing group of critics says a black artist--or at least an American--should have been chosen to create the King memorial between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials in the nation's capital. They have been joined by human rights advocates who say King would have abhorred the Chinese government's record on religious and civil liberty.

King may have abhored the Chinese government's record on such things, but that doesn't mean he would have abhored Mr. Yixin who is not working for the government in his capacity as a sculptor for this project.

Best of the Web reminds us of King's famous statement:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I just can't believe that Dr. King would be upset about a Chinese sculptor carving his likeness. In fact, I think he'd rather enjoy the fact that the officials making the selection did so without apparent consideration of the race of the artist.