Donations increase for memorial to King in Washington, D.C.



ATLANTA (AP) -- Donations for a planned memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington have jumped since the recent deaths of civil-rights icons Rosa Parks and King's widow, Coretta Scott King.
To date, $58 million has been raised for the $100 million project, with more than $4.5 million collected in just one recent week. By comparison, the campaign took in a little more than $5 million in all of 2004.
Harry E. Johnson Sr., president of the nonprofit group behind the project, said the death of Parks in October and Coretta Scott King in January clearly inspired people to contribute.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial would be the first major tribute to the him outside his hometown of Atlanta.
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