Martin Luther King Memorial in Yerba Buena Gardens Essay

Situated on the corner of 4th St. and Mission St., in downtown San Francisco is Yerba Buena Gardens. Sounds from the hustle and bustle of cars ride and bulk walking permeate Yerba Buena Gardens, merely in one particular location. In one corner of the gardens stands a Martin Luther fairy younger record. The autobiography is breathtakingly beautiful with a fifty foot high and twenty foot wide waterf solely that locomote oer Sierra granite. In the registers h all(prenominal)way, overthrowors read quotes from Dr. male monarch himself that atomic number 18 engraved on glass panels and hard-boiled in granite. The physical beauty of the memorial is undeniable, however many peck atomic number 18 not aw atomic number 18 of the symbolism fraud beneath the memorials surface. The memorials waterfall symbolizes the realization of Dr. nances dreams the realization of Dr. faggots dream, the weeping shed by millions and of the vowelises of African AmericasThe memorial too re minds us of the loaded African Americans whose verbalizes were drowned out ignored in time, it is plain that ball club was pushed backwards in the work to equality with the mandatory evacuation of thousands of people due to the development of the Yerba Buena Gardens. King Jr. dreamt that all humans beings, regardless of hide color, will one day be able to live in a completely free, simply, and non-discriminatory caller. It was his dream of an equal society that pushed Martin Luther King Jr. to become an instigate for universal suffrage. Even though the unify States already had universal suffrage, unfair literacy tests and crown taxes plagued the vote process and disqualified just near all impoverished AfricanAmericans from voting 1. King wanted a colorblind society a society where all human beings are treated equally and respectfully and given the aforementioned(prenominal) personal liberties and semi policy-making freedom. Martin Luther King argued, in his I suc k in a Dream speech, that we are not satisfied until justice rolls down ilk water and correcteousness like a mighty stream 2. This quote from Dr. Kings speech is inscribed on the right end wall of the memorial. after(prenominal) reading the final inscribed quote, it is manifest that the purpose of the waterfall is to signify the realization of Martin Luther Kings dream of a just society. Justice , The United States Martin Luther Kings dream of justice in directlys society a monumental victory of justice over prejudice. It is so easy to forget about what it took for America to become a in truth free and nondiscriminatory nation. The mists are a demand reminder for people in straight offs society that personal conversancy and semipolitical freedom should never be transportn for granted.Though Yerba Buena Gardens is situated in downtown San Francisco, a busy city filled with loud noises, the memorial itself is inquisitively quiet and calm. The memorials peacefullity is d ue to the over indexing, yet surprisingly tranquil sound of the rushing water from the waterfall. The power of the waterfall to drown out all exterior noise is phenomenal. It is impossible to even up hear what someone is saying when they are right next to you. Visitors settle to pass over the sound of the rushing water by screaming or whistling, but are unsuccessful. Independent from lifes distractions, visitors are given the opportunity to absorb all that the memorial and Dr. Kings oral communication have to offer. Visitors can take this meter to self-reflect and to appreciate the efforts of earlier generations fighting for equality during our nations infancy. The undeniable intensiveness of the waterfalls sound to composite all external noise makes macrocosm incapable of expressing ol pointory perceptions or thoughts leaves an unfamiliar and fearsome sensation. People life-time in todays society are normally ignorant to this unfamiliar, close claustrophobic feeling of screaming at the top of your lungs without a single person acknowledging your frustrations.During our nations storey, however, nearly all African Americans struggled with this same frustration. Helpless against the white minority, b escapes throughout history struggled to get their concerns addressed and their votes counted. The visitors inability to communicate vocally is fugacious and fortuitously, lonesome(prenominal) lasts as long as it takes for the person to walk through the memorial. African Americans, however, were plagued with powerlessness for hundreds of years. Martin Luther King Jr. matte up obliged to provide a voice for all African Americans stripped of the right to do so on their own. referable to the hard work of Martin Luther King, civil rights leading and activists, and President Johnson, on August 6, 1965 the choose Rights Act was signed into law, which banned the engross of literacy tests and also required stricter monitoring of the social function of p oll taxes in state and topical anaesthetic elections 3. Finally, the time had come when African Americans could voice their opinions and have them be heard, and vote for the political constituent whom carried similar beliefs and morals. The development of the Yerba Buena Gardens, as part of the Urban Re unseasonedal give was not always considered to be something confirming and beneficial.During the 1950s, city planners forced thousands of people living in the South of Market surface theater of operations out of their homes, arguing that the area was sedate Skid Row ripe for redevelopment, inhabit by bums and transients whose fate mattered little 4. metropolis planners leave out the important fact that many people who lived in this area were elderly and poor and had little denial against the federal bulldozer 5. The city did try and relocate as many people as possible, but only had 276 units of new housing to replace thousands of demolished units. Thousands were left homeles s and kicked out of possibly the only home they have ever know and will ever know, due to lack of job skills needed to find employment. The satire of placing a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, a man who advocated for equality and justice until his assassination, on land where thousands of impoverished people were evicted just a couple years earlier, is almost too horrific to comprehend.The hypocrisy in the decision to place this memorial at the Yerba Buena Gardens is undeniable and unforgiveable. The memorials waterfall is a reminder of the relentless rigorousness that plagued millions of blacks for thousands of years and the tears they shed. The waterfall also symbolizes the realization of Dr. Kings dream. The constructive eviction methods used during the Urban Renewal gunpoint to obtain the land where the memorial sits were ethically questionable, however it is still important to visit this monument from time to time. The memorial stands on that point in the centre of attent ion of Yerba Buena Gardens, in the middle of downtown San Francisco, as a silent, yet constant reminder to never take anything for granted and to always remember the blood, sweat, and tears shed by millions in recount for people today to enjoy and drill the complete personal liberty and political freedom that we are so fortunately blessed with.