Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) is an extremely popular civil rights movement leader known for his role in advancing civil rights in the United States. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was constructed in 2011 to commemorate his life and achievements. Besides being the fourth non-president to be memorialised in such a manner, he is also the first African-American to be honoured on or near the National Mall. Even the road the memorial is located at — 1964 Independence Avenue, S.W. — is a reference to the Civil Rights Act of 1964! Within the memorial holds the Stone of Hope, a granite statue of Martin Luther King carved by the sculptor Lei Yixin (born 1954). This statue is inspired from one of King’s quotes from his I Have a Dream speech: “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." Quotes from throughout King’s lifetime are also scattered all over the memorial site.