County - The Metro Herald

“STONE OF HOPE”—MLK MEMORIAL DREAM SOON TO BE REALITY
January 11, 2008
The movement to erect the memorial
on the National Mall was
spearheaded by Alpha Phi
Alpha, the first Greek letter fraternity
established for African-Americans.
Founded in 1906 at Cornell University,
the Alphas have worked diligentlly to
create this memorial to Dr. King, a fraternity
brother from the Sigma Chapter
at Boston University. Their due diligence
has paid off.
Dr. King’s memorial will be situated
on the National Mall on a fouracre
site along the Tidal Basin. It will
be adjacent to the Franklin D. Roosevelt
Memorial, and on a direct line
between the Lincoln and Jefferson
Memorials. Natural elements - stone,
water and trees will be used to underscore
the memorial’s three underlying
themes—justice, democracy and hope.
The memorial will stand as a tangible
symbol of what is still achievable
through non-violent action, tolerance
and appreciation of diversity; and a reminder
for all Americans to fight
racism, injustice, and inequality. Located
near the Lincoln and Jefferson
memorials, the slain American hero
will be the first and only African-
American individual to be memorialized
on the National Mall.
Under the leadership of CFO
Richard Marshall, Harry E. Johnson,
Sr., the foundation’s President, and Ty
Christian, the Chief Marketing Strategist,
the foundation has launched a nationwide
fundraising effort, which includes
faith-based initiatives, the
national distribution of Public Service
Announcements on broadcast TV, advertising
in major publications and a
global wristband campaign. The effort
has garnered the support of Hollywood
notables like Academy Award winners
Halle Berry and Morgan Freeman,
Grammy Award winning entertainer
Nelly, and Today Show’s Al Roker.
Millions have been raised from individuals
worldwide, as well as corporate
giants like General Motors, Toyota,
NBA/WNBA, Bank of America,
BellSouth Corporation, and Tommy
Hilfiger, USA, The Walt Dsney company
Foundation,The Coca-Cola Company,
Toyota, Alpha Phi alpha Fraternity,
Wal-Mart, Fed-Ex, McDonald’s
and others. Over 35 entities have donated
$1 million or more. To date, the
Foundation has raised in excess of $80
million. A total of $100 million is
needed to complete the project.
MEET SOME OF THESE
KEY PLAYERS AND LEARN
MORE ABOUT THEIR ROLES
IN CREATING HISTORY
RICHARD W. MARSHALL,
MLK FOUNDATION CHIEF
FINANCIAL OFFICER
Marshall, a Jacksonville native and
1968 graduate of FAMU, is a “loaned
executive” as part of General Motors
North America’s corporate philanthropic
gift to the Washington, D.C.
MLK Jr. National Memorial Project
Foundation.
Richard’s accounting career began
as a staff auditor for Arthur Young &
Company (NY) in 1969. In addition to
his auditing work, he started an accounting
program to provide assistance
to non-profit organizations in the NYC
area. He has since spent 30 years with
the financial staff of General Motors
North America.
In His Own Words: “GM got involved
with the Foundation before I
even knew about it. [GM is the lead
sponsor on the project, with a ten million
dollar donation.] Once I found out
about it, I mentioned to my boss Rod
Gillam (GM’s VP of Comm Affairs),
and told him my interest...that I’d like
to get involved in some way. As it so
happened, the Foundation was looking
for a CFO, so it was a perfect fit.
I have such a great reverance and
respect for Dr. King’s work. Being involved
with the Foundation was the
very least I could do personallly, being
that Dr. King’s work open doors for me
to pursue the career I have. I wear the
blue wristband, and I’ve pledged not to
take it off until construction on the memorial
is complete.”
TY CHRISTIAN,
CHIEF MARKETING
STRATEGIST
Orlando resident Ty Christian is a
marketing and sales executive with
over 25 years of diverse marketing experience
in the cable television, telephone
and advertising industries. He
has worked in several marketing management
positions with such industry
leaders as GTE, J. Walter Thompson,
Times Mirror, Westinghouse, Financial
News Network and Cablevision Industries.
Recognized as a leading authority
on the many issues of diversity
marketing, he was recently appointed
to the Board of Directors for the
Meet four of the MLK Foundation “Dream Builders” (pictured from left to right) CFO
Richard Marshall, Chief Marketing Strategist Ty Christian, Foundation Presient Harry
E. Johnson Sr. and Executive Architect Dr. Ed Jackson
Florida Tourism Commission, and is
currently working on a book detailing
the many merits of diversity marketing
entitled, “Get That Cheese, Baby.”
How He Got Involved: “Our firm
(YPBR/Christian) volunteered its efforts
for some time before being selected
as one of three firms to be advertising
agency of record for the
Foundation. Prior to the close of the
year, Harry [Johnson] asked me to
come on board as a full-time consultant
for 90 days to assist with the development
of a Black History Month promotion.
After 90 days and a successful
marketing effort, I was offered the position
of CMS.
Working with the Foundation on
such a monumental endeavor has been
a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a
marketing person’s dream come true.
It’s very humbling to work with some
of the brightest marketing minds in the
world on a project that will leave an
undying legacy on the nation.To work
with talented, distinguished professionals
like Richard, Ed, Harry and
others at the Foundation has made this
an amazing experience.”
HARRY E. JOHNSON, SR.,
PRESIDENT, MLK
FOUNDATION
Harry E. Johnson, Sr., President of
the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther
King, Jr. National Memorial Project
Foundation, Inc. is as well, the 31st
General President for Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity, Inc., serving as national
leader from 2001-2005. A native of St.
Louis, Missouri, Mr. Johnson is a practicing
attorney in Houston, Texas and
serves as an adjunct professor of law at
Texas Southern University’s Thurgood
Marshall School of Law. He is also a
Board member of the National Big
Brothers and Big Sisters and member
of One Hundred Black Men.
About His Role: “I’ve only been involved
with this project for the past
five years. The bill was signed into law
under Alpha Phi Alpha General President
Milton Davis. The current General
President, Darryl Matthews, has
taken the reigns, sits on the [MLK
Foundation] Board of Directors, and is
doing an excellent job carrying forth
the fraternity’s mission.
I’m pleased to be involved in a historical
project of this magnitude, one
so important to the history of America
and African Americans. However, in
the grand scheme of the project, my
role is relatively small. My duties are
to facilitate the fundraising, and to
make sure that the three trains -
fundraising, administration and design
and construction - run properly.”
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will include a likeness of King emerging
from a slice of a granite boulder (illustration by Christopher Grubbs; courtesy of the
Roma Design Group)
Ty Christian, Chief Marketing Strategist
ED JACKSON, JR. ARCHD,
MLK FOUNDATION
EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT
With over 25 years of architectural
planning and design, and project management
experience in multi-million
dollar projects for state and local agencies,
Dr. Ed Jackson Jr. serves as the Executive
Architect for the Washington,
DC, Martin Luther King, Jr., National
Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. His
initial involvement with the project
began as a volunteer in January 1997,
where he was asked to serve as Chair of
the Design Committee responsible for
the development and administration of
the largest international design competition
in honor of an American citizen. He
joined the Foundation in March 2001 as
Executive Director.
How the Winning Design Was Selected:
“Qualified candidates from 52
countries and 6 of 8 continents responded
to our call for entries. The selection
committee for this international
competition was comprised of architects,
Landscape Architects, etc. from Bejing,
India, Paris, Mexico, and the U.S.
In going through the 900 entries,
we started to become keenly aware of
what we were looking for, and narrowed
our list to 21. As Dr. Woo of Bejing
said, “What we are looking for is a
memorial that will be in harmony with
everything in the [National] mall, but
distinctively different.” Hands down,
ROMA Design Group’s entry was
most in harmony.
Working on this project is an enormous
privilege. Once can’t imagine
that you’d grow up and have a part of
something of this magnitude that
would represent a contribution to
America at large.”
The Memorial Foundation’s Executive
Leadership Cabinet is headed by
Ambassador Andy Young, Cowger of
General Motors, and Coretta Scott
King In Honorarium. Other members
include: Colin Powell, J.W. Marriott,
Jr., Tommy Hilfiger, Vernon Jordan,
Russell Simmons, NBA Commissioner
David Stern, and Viacom’s head
Philippe Dauman.
12 THE METRO HERALD