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Op-Ed: 'Confrontational' MLK Statue Is Appropriate

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The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has expressed concern that a statue of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. planned for the Washington Mall makes him appear "confrontational." In a recent op-ed, Ibram Rogers says a confrontational rendering of the civil rights leader is entirely appropriate.

"King was never happy with America, so why are the feds forcing him to smile now?" Rogers writes. "An activist by his or her very nature is confrontational, and King was the quintessential activist. King was not only confrontational, he thought it was morally imperative for his countrymen to be the same."

Rogers' op-ed, "A Stone-Faced Lie on the Mall," appeared Thursday in The Root.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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