Photo by joelogon

Plenty of people may have been happy when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar agreed to change a controversial quote on the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, but the man in charge of the foundation that raised the money to build it certainly isn’t one.

The AP reports that Harry E. Johnson Sr., president and CEO of the Martin Luther Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, is unhappy that Salazar is moving ahead with changing a paraphrased quote on the memorial, claiming that the new quote will have to be inscribed on a new block of granite that won’t match that which was used for the memorial:

Fixing the quote will likely involve cutting into the monument several inches around the inscription to remove a block of granite and replacing it with another piece for engraving. It’s unclear how much the work would cost. Echoing statements from the architect of the foundation, Johnson said the change threatens the monument’s design and structure.

“While we understand the position of the National Park Service,” the statement said, “we are confident that our legion of donors, volunteers and supporters will agree that a less intrusive solution should be explored to ensure the sanctity of the iconic symbol we have come to cherish is not threatened.”

The “Drum Major quote,” as the quotation is known, was lifted from a 1968 sermon King delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The monument, which was unveiled late last year, reads: “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.” Critics have noted that the line was actually paraphrased from several sentences. The full passage, which will now be chiseled on the monument’s base, reads: “Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”

Salazar said that the change would take a year to complete.