Washington, DC - U.S. Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-Brooklyn) announced his support and cosponsorship today for H.R. 1209, which would grant the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation a three-year extension to complete the planned memorial.  The deadline to complete the memorial was originally set for November 2003.  An extension will allow the foundation to raise the necessary funds

“This memorial will be as important as anything that currently sits on the mall today,” said Congressman Towns.  “Especially for the young people who did not live through the fight for civil rights, it is vital that they learn about the struggle and sacrifice of Dr. King and so many others from the civil rights movement.
 
“It wasn’t so long ago that we weren’t allowed to sit where we wanted to on buses or permitted to drink from the same water fountains as white Americans,” continued Towns.  “Everyone needs to remember and understand this.  The memorial will help ensure that people do.”

The foundation, which already has about $25 million in contributions or commitments, hopes to raise $100 million to complete the project. The landscaped memorial would cover a four-acre triangle on the shore of Washington's Tidal Basin, between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and next to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial.  The foundation hopes to break ground in late 2004

Congressman Towns is a member of The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Honorary Congressional Committee.