By: Ella Turenne

Clint Button and Gilbert Young, a white granite sculptor and black artist respectively, have teamed up to protest the building of the centerpiece of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial centerpiece in China.

The memorial, close to a decade in the making, is scheduled to begin construction early next year in Washington DC.  In February, an announcement was made stating that Chinese master sculptor Lei Yizin would create the “Stone of Hope,” a 30-foot likeness of King.  The centerpiece would then be shipped to the 4 acre site in DC.

Button and Young’s protest stems from their belief that the centerpiece should be made in America by an American, not in China.  They would prefer the artist be African-American.

"How do you say to black America that no one black is good enough to make a likeness of King?" Young said.

Representatives from the foundation say that the accusations are not true. 

"This project is not being outsourced to China," said Harry Johnson Sr., president and chief executive officer of the foundation. "Master Lei is working with two African-American artists on the project. When it is completed, the project is about Dr. King. That's what is important."

Young and Button also make the case that the wages and work conditions of those building the centerpiece will be inhumane, almost slave-like.

"It is against everything Dr. King stood for," Button said.

Button and Young have gone a variety of routes to put pressure on the foundation, including getting signatures and appealing to the NAACP and the National Black Caucus, who have each agreed with their cause.

Johnson stands by the foundation’s desire to have the best possible product while Button and Young fight to preserve an industry and cultural legacy in the US.

"I am fighting for the granite industry and this way of life," Button said. "My family has been in the granite sculpting business for 116 years."