The Shakedown at the King Monument

By artappraiser on Thu, 09/08/2011 - 7:29pm |

By Charles E. Cobb, Jr., The Root, September 6, 3011

The builders of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial at the National Mall had to pay $761,160 for the right to use King's words and images, according to financial documents obtained by the Associated Press. The money went to Intellectual Properties Management Inc. -- a foundation controlled by King's youngest son, Dexter. Another $71,000 was paid out in a "management fee" to the family estate back in 2003.

I hope I'm not the only one who found the opening of this monument soured by what could be considered extortion. In any case, I'm especially ticked off, perhaps because I was an activist and organizer in the Southern freedom movement of the 1960s....

URL:

http://www.theroot.com/views/shakedown-king-monument