I cannot help but to wonder, which King now stands enshrined on the mall? For our answer to this question speaks not only to who we consider ourselves to be as a nation, but also to who we have made Dr. King to be, and what we consider to be his enduring legacy.

It is most befitting that this great man who was never elected to office, used his voice to change America and make it live up to its written creed. King represents Black Americans on the mall, where in the buildings and halls of our national lawmakers there is little black representation.

The dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial provides an opportunity to reflect and commit ourselves to Dr. King's work. Dr. King dreamed to end not just racial injustice, but the poverty that had allowed it to flourish. We need to make that dream a reality.

Of the many lessons that life has taught me, none has been more powerful than what I have come to understand about the true meaning of "The Beloved Community."

King was profound in a profane world. He was amazingly impactful and proved that one man can make a difference. As we see King today, as we mount a statue on the Washington mall, the backdrop is politicians gone mad.

Americans, especially African Americans, must not walk through the King national memorial without remembering our dead, without calling the names of those we know and acknowledging the nameless souls who sacrificed for a more just world.