A quote is a terrible thing to twist

What were they thinking? Change a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most revered activists, writers and orators of the 20th century?

The deed is done, but many are calling for it to be undone. Here’s what chiselers of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington inscribed on the north face of the granite monument:

“I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”

Huh?

Here’s what King – whose words are studied and respected by serious speechwriters everywhere – actually said in a sermon to a congregation of believers at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church on Feb. 4, 1968:

“If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”

Eloquent. Powerful. Thought provoking.

The one-sentence paraphrase not only falls flat – but worse – conveys the wrong message.

King was not giving himself an attaboy in that 1968 sermon. He was suggesting what his eulogist might say on the day of his funeral – that his work on earth had been done for a greater good, a higher cause, to fulfill his lifelong mission of service. In King’s words, “I just want to leave a committed life behind.”

Author and poet Maya Angelou gets it. She says the quote makes King seem arrogant and changes the meaning completely. And that’s the danger of changing quotes willy-nilly, all in the name of “we’re just out of space.”

According to The Washington Post, the sculptor told the memorial’s executive architect and planners that King’s entire drum major quote simply would not fit on the north face of the monument.

Sculptors and architects are not editors. If you change a quote, or take it out of context without regard to the writer’s or speaker’s intent – you change the meaning. You change the truth. And in this case, you change history.

And now, unless Maya Angelou gets her way, King’s words will remain twisted for all to see. And that’s a shameful tribute to a man who knew the power of words to inspire – and ultimately change – a nation.

Published on Sept. 8, 2011