New MLK Memorial Dedication Ceremony Next Week
CHO: Good morning, Washington. A beautiful shot of the Capitol. It is 69 degrees. Great August day there. Washington is about to change. Next week, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial will have the dedication ceremony. We will give you a sneak peek of the site right now. Our Josh Levs joins us with that. So what does it look like, Josh?</s>JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is pretty amazing. I will tell you that the dedication, that this whole dedication, next weekend, has a whole week leading up to it. So there are activities going on starting Monday, really and all throughout the week. People from around the country, and world, can already get a sense of what it is like right now with this tour. We are going to keep watching this. I'm going to tell you what we are seeing here. Organizers say this is designed to evoke the memory and spiritual presence of Doctor King. It has several separate sections here that include some of his most famous quotes, excerpts of his sermons. It is focused on four themes: they say, democracy, justice, hope and love. The centerpiece I can actually show you, not just virtual, but actual. Turning to my screen right here, we are going to zoom in on this. This right here, is the statue of Doctor King. I can control it with the panoramic view right here. What I can do when I click on it, we are going to zoom way in. You can see the words on the side of the statue itself. It is a 30 foot likeness of him. On the side, it says, "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." Now I know it is dark on your screen there, but that comes from his "I Have A Dream" speech, in which he actually said those words. If you look at how this is designed, this statue of him is a stone of hope that is coming out of this mountain of despair in the background. Symbolic in the way it is designed. All of this is from this granite blocks. Now let's take a look at this Google Earth. I want you to see this. The location is so significant. The "I Have A Dream" speech took place at the Lincoln Memorial. If you look here, they basically set up a triangle from the Lincoln to the Jefferson, over to the Washington Monument. You can see where MLK Memorial fits in. And as we zoom in the Washington Monument is the best known site in the nation's capital. And when you zoom in here, this is what is so cool. The Lincoln Memorial, where he delivered that most famous speech, "I Have A Dream" speech, on those steps right there. When we zoom around to the other side, you will see the reflecting pool, and then you will see that Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is beyond that, on the other side. The site of the memorial is right there on that site of the Tidal Basin, right within view of all of those key sites. This, right here, is what one of the organizers of this monument said.</s>HARRY JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, MLK NATIONAL MEMORIAL PROJECT FOUNDATION: When future generations visit Washington, they will see a Mall that is more closely reflecting the diversity of our great nation.</s>LEVS: Now, we have a lot that you can see, including everything I just showed you. Go ahead and show my page, up at Facebook and Twitter. And at our blog, CNN.com/Josh. You can see all of the interactives I showed you now. Including, Alina, our special section on CNN.com devoted entirely to coverage of Doctor King.</s>CHO: Josh, did you know I'm on Twitter now?</s>LEVS: I did not know. I didn't know if you wanted me to announce it. But I saw you got on Twitter. Let me welcome you to the fold. It is a lot of fun.</s>CHO: Thank you very much. I'm a late comer. Enjoying it. Join me. Follow me @alinacho. Thank you, so much Josh, we appreciate it. Join us next weekend for the unveiling of the MLK Memorial. Our T.J. Holmes will be live from Washington for the ceremony. A child's last shot for finding a home for a four-legged best friend; leaving the little guy on a stranger's door step, and a $100 bill. We will tell you why and how this story plays out next.