In celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Civil Rights March on Washington, Harry E. Johnson Sr., president and CEO of the Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Inc. announced August 28 that The Boeing Company will donate $1 million toward building a lasting memorial to Dr. King on the National Mall.
"On behalf of Boeing and its employees, I am proud to announce this gift with the sincere hope that, through this memorial, the power of Dr. King's example will endure and become a reality in our lifetime," said James Bell, Boeing corporate president, chief financial officer and executive vice president. "Striving to create a better future by bringing people together, enabling communication and protecting peace is what inspires our 160,000 employees every day. We are tremendously honored to support the Memorial as an enduring reminder of Dr. King's legacy of inclusion, hope and freedom."
Bell made the announcement at the Unity Prayer Breakfast that Boeing sponsored August 28 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. In addition to Bell and Johnson, some 1,000 civil rights and faith leaders, government officials and others attended the event.
"As a result of the generous donation by Boeing, the Memorial Foundation has reached the $100 million fundraising mark and we continue to move forward with excitement as we set forth to raise the remaining $20 million needed to build the Memorial," said Johnson.
Boeing joins the following major donors to the memorial: General Motors, Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, NBA/WNBA, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Walt Disney Company Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Ford Motor Fund, Toyota, AARP, AFLAC, BP America, Inc., CIGNA, Credit Unions of the United States, DuPont, ExxonMobil Foundation, Fannie Mae Corporation, FedEx Corporation, GE, Ann and Joel Horowitz Family Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Sheila C. Johnson-Newman, Lehman Brothers, George Lucas, MacFarlane Partners, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, McDonald's Corporation, MetLife Foundation, National Association of Realtors (NAR), National Education Association (NEA), Nationwide Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Pfizer Foundation, Prudential Financial Inc., Shell Oil Company, State Farm Insurance, Verizon Foundation, Viacom, Wal-Mart, Morehouse College, and the Knight Foundation among others.
