Photo by LaTur.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial executive architect Ed Jackson Jr. tells the Washington Post that he does not plan to change the controversial inscription on the side of King’s memorial despite outcries from civil rights and editorialists. Of the most vocal is Maya Angelou, who has derided the misquoted inscription as making King Jr. look like an “arrogant twit.”

Jackson said fitting the quote in the allowed space would be an issue, and that the inscription would need to be “very brief and succinct.” He adds that despite the heavy paraphrasing, “the word ‘if’ suggests that . . . he’s not sure of who he was. . . . We have the historical perspective. We can say emphatically he was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”

For a man who was so eloquent yet pithy with his words, I find it hard to believe that finding an alternative, complete quote would have been difficult to accomplish. But now that the mistake has been made, what is there to do? Until there is an official outcry to change the line — Jackson says he hasn’t received on yet — not much will be done.