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(Mis)quoting King: commemorative stewardship and ethos in the controversy over the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

(Mis)quoting King: commemorative stewardship and ethos in the controversy over the Martin Luther... AbstractPrior to the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2011, controversy swirled about a paraphrased quotation etched on the side of King’s likeness. The paraphrase, which read, “I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness,” was derived from a sermon given by King in 1968. This essay examines the quotation controversy, which first erupted in August 2011, just before the memorial’s scheduled dedication. The debate over this “misquote” seems at first to be about historical accuracy—i.e. whether the paraphrase accurately reflects what King said and who he was. However, I argue that this debate actually reveals more about how elites use the discourse of “commemorative stewardship” to secure the credibility to speak on, make decisions about, and ultimately control interpretations of public memories. Participants’ claims rely on a rhetoric of commemorative stewardship that acknowledges a public obligation, expresses a commitment to a sacred memory, emphasizes the best practices of shared responsibility and accountability, and demonstrates investment in the good of future generations. Tracing the rhetoric of stewardship in the debate shows how critics of the paraphrased inscription were able to achieve their goal of “correcting” the perceived error while deflecting attention from other controversial elements of the memorial. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Argumentation and Advocacy Taylor & Francis

(Mis)quoting King: commemorative stewardship and ethos in the controversy over the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

VanderHaagen, Sara C.
Argumentation and Advocacy , Volume 55 (2): 24 – Apr 3, 2019
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(Mis)quoting King: commemorative stewardship and ethos in the controversy over the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Abstract

AbstractPrior to the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2011, controversy swirled about a paraphrased quotation etched on the side of King’s likeness. The paraphrase, which read, “I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness,” was derived from a sermon given by King in 1968. This essay examines the quotation controversy, which first erupted in August 2011, just before the memorial’s scheduled dedication. The...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2019 American Forensic Association
ISSN
2576-8476
eISSN
1051-1431
DOI
10.1080/10511431.2019.1597592
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractPrior to the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2011, controversy swirled about a paraphrased quotation etched on the side of King’s likeness. The paraphrase, which read, “I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness,” was derived from a sermon given by King in 1968. This essay examines the quotation controversy, which first erupted in August 2011, just before the memorial’s scheduled dedication. The debate over this “misquote” seems at first to be about historical accuracy—i.e. whether the paraphrase accurately reflects what King said and who he was. However, I argue that this debate actually reveals more about how elites use the discourse of “commemorative stewardship” to secure the credibility to speak on, make decisions about, and ultimately control interpretations of public memories. Participants’ claims rely on a rhetoric of commemorative stewardship that acknowledges a public obligation, expresses a commitment to a sacred memory, emphasizes the best practices of shared responsibility and accountability, and demonstrates investment in the good of future generations. Tracing the rhetoric of stewardship in the debate shows how critics of the paraphrased inscription were able to achieve their goal of “correcting” the perceived error while deflecting attention from other controversial elements of the memorial.

Journal

Argumentation and Advocacy – Taylor & Francis

Published: Apr 3, 2019

Keywords: memorial; commemorative stewardship; ethos; public memory; Martin Luther King Jr.

References

  • The Preserve America Executive Order Report to the President: In A Spirit of Stewardship, A Report on Federal Historic Property Management
  • The Preserve America Executive Order Report to the President: In A Spirit of Stewardship, A Report on Federal Historic Property Management
  • The Preserve America Executive Order Report to the President: In A Spirit of Stewardship, A Report on Federal Historic Property Management
  • Critical Memory and the Black Public Sphere
  • The AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Contemporary Culture of Public Commemoration
  • The King’s Body: The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Politics of Collective Memory
  • Ground Zero and Place-Making Authority: The Conservative Metaphors in 9/11 Families’ ‘Take Back the Memorial’ Rhetoric
  • Reflections on the Building of the Martin Luther King National Memorial in Washington, DC
  • Oppositional Memory Practices: U.S. Memorial Spaces as Arguments over Public Memory
  • A Call to Action: Preparing for a Second Century of Stewardship and Engagement
  • A Call to Action: Preparing for a Second Century of Stewardship and Engagement
  • A Call to Action: Preparing for a Second Century of Stewardship and Engagement
  • A Call to Action: Preparing for a Second Century of Stewardship and Engagement
  • A Call to Action: Preparing for a Second Century of Stewardship and Engagement
  • A Rhetoric of Traumatic Nationalism in the Ground Zero Mosque Controversy
  • Inventing Sacagawea: Public Women and the Transformative Potential of Epideictic Rhetoric
  • Insisting on Persisting: The Nuclear Rhetoric of ‘Stockpile Stewardship
  • Caring for the Past, Managing for the Future: Federal Stewardship and America’s Historic Legacy
  • Reconstructing the Lost Cause in the Memphis City Parks Renaming Controversy