Martin Luther King Memorial at Yerba Buena Gardens: Surprise Tear-Jerker

Until quite recently I wasn’t into monuments. I think it has to do with whatever generational/marketing segment I belong to: all about irony, and too aware of hypocrisy and injustice to spend my time remembering in any sort of predetermined “patriotic” manner.

A couple of weeks ago I finally noticed the Martin Luther King memorial at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.

I had passed the roaring waterfall at least a few dozen times on the way to the MOMA or a movie and never stopped because I didn’t know that pictures of King and civil rights leaders and inscribed King quotations were hiding there beneath it. Visitors walking under the fall can’t avoid a slight spray. When I made it to the end and read the final quotation, realizing that the water represented King’s dream of justice washing over us, my own tears spontaneously started flowing.  Seriously. I had to pull myself together before buying my movie tickets.

Now it is one of my favorite places in the city; each time I’ve returned since, I've left feeling fortified by the reminder of the civil rights struggle and committed to doing my small part to promote justice. Monuments can work as important, non-cheesy, living remembrances.

Now, as MLK Day approaches, I'm trying to fill myself in on the history of the civil rights movement. Here's a short quiz to spark your memory (I got 8 out of 12... time to brush up!).

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