Good morning, Washington. Nearly two months after Hurricane Irene postponed the celebration, the nation’s first black president will serve as the keynote speaker for today’s official dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. There’s no rain in sight.
Ceremonies began at 8:00 am, and President Obama will deliver his address at 11:00 am.
Today’s ceremony, smaller than the one originally planned for the Aug. 28 anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, is free and tickets are not required. There are 10,000 folding chairs set up for spectators, but people are encouraged to bring their own picnic blankets and chairs.
The program is being moderated by “PBS Newshour” correspondent Gwen Ifill, and members of the King family will attend, as well as the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young, former NAACP chairman Julian Bond and U.S. Rep.John Lewis — civil rights leaders who, the Washington Post reports, marched with King in the 1950s and 60s.
Aretha Franklin, James Taylor and poet Nikki Giovanni will perform.
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