Martin Luther King statue embroiled in race controversy

The plan to erect a giant memorial statue of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr on the National Mall in Washington has become embroiled in controversy after it was decided to appoint a Chinese artist as the lead sculptor.

Lei Yixin was spotted by a team from the King Memorial Foundation at a discussion on stone carving in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which is twinned with his home town of Changsha. The foundation was looking for a sculptor capable of working with a huge block of granite that would become the centerpiece of the planned memorial: a 9m statue of King called Stone of Hope.

But Lei's promotion last month to the role of head artist, or "sculptor of record" has drawn heavy criticism. He replaced Ed Dwight, an African-American artist who had been in charge until he complained about Lei's amendments to the design.

Dwight he was told that Lei had been promoted in the hope of attracting US$25 million toward the costs of the project from the Chinese government -- a claim the foundation denies.

Spearheading protesters is a black artist from King's home town of Atlanta, Gilbert Young, who has set up a Web site, kingisours.com.

Young it is "crazy" that the foundation could not find an African-American sculptor good enough to create a likeness of the civil rights leader, who was assassinated in 1968.

It was a "slap in the face" to ask a Chinese artist to sculpt "the centerpiece of the most important African-American monument, in recognition of the most important African-American movement in the history of the United States. We as African-Americans have a right to depict the life and legacy of one of our most beloved leaders as we saw him," he said.

The memorial is scheduled to open next year at a cost of US$100 million. The foundation has raised about US$79 million.