King Memorial Foundation Undergoes Federal Investigation

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, the primary organization behind a planned Washington D.C. sculpture of the civil rights leader, is facing a probe into its finances and bidding practices by the inspector general of the U.S Department of the Interior, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The project is under investigation for its administrative spending, the lack of an open competition for choosing a sculptor for the monument, and the question of whether its use of Chinese granite violates "buy American" rules.

A number of outspoken critics of the memorial have been interviewed by federal agents, including sculptor Ed Dwight, the creator of several King monuments across the country and and a former consultant on this project, and Atlanta painting Gilbert Young and his wife, Lea Winfrey-Young, who have formed a group called "King Is Ours" to protest the hiring of Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin. The sculpture has also recently been the subject of controversy about its planned design.