PRESIDENTS, CELEBRITIES AND GIANTS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT JOINED THOUSANDS ON NATIONAL MALL YESTERDAY TO HONOR THE LEGACY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

History Made: Ground Broken on King Memorial

Washington D.C (November 14, 2006) The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. made history yesterday with the Ceremonial Groundbreaking of a Memorial to Dr. King on the National Mall. President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, members of the House and Senate including Senator Barack Obama and Congressman John Lewis, Dr. Maya Angelou, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bernice King, Yolanda King, Martin Luther King, III, Tommy Hilfiger, Ambassador Andrew Young, and Memorial Foundation president Harry Johnson joined thousands of supporters to honor the legacy of Dr. King.

The four-acre memorial will sit at the edge of the Tidal Basin near Lincoln, Jefferson, and FDR memorials. The project will be completed in 2008. The Memorial Foundation has raised $70.4 million of the needed $100 million to complete and maintain the Memorial thanks to generous donors including General Motors, the Tommy Hilfiger  Corporate Foundation, the NBA, The Walt Disney Company Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Toyota and many others.

President Bush paid tribute saying "Dr. King showed us that a life of conscious and purpose can lift up many souls, and on this ground a monument will rise that preserves his legacy for the ages."

Clinton added that contemporary lessons could be learned from King's legacy of nonviolence. "Civil disobedience works better than suicide bombing," he said. And the memorial to King reminds people that "the time is always ripe to do right."

Oprah shared that she too has lived the dream. "It is because of Dr. King that I stand, that I have a voice to be heard," Winfrey said. "I do not take that for granted. Not for one breath. Because he was the seed of the free, I get to be the blossom."

Dr. Maya Angelou read a poem. Diane Sawyer read a letter from Nelson Mandela. Soulful musical performances by Bebe Winans and the Ebenezer AME Church Mass Choir lifted the crowd.

Hosted by Tavis Smiley and Soledad O' Brien, the ceremony also featured speeches from the King family including Bernice Albertine King, Yolanda King, and Martin Luther King,III. VIP attendees included: Muhammad Ali, Russell Simmons, and NBA All- Stars Bill Russell, Bill Walton, and Bob Lanier. The event was capped by a procession to the official groundbreaking site for the turning of the soil by civil rights leaders Dorothy Height, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congressman John Lewis, and Ambassador Andrew Young.

"When we finish this Memorial, we will have a King among presidents," said Foundation President, Harry Johnson. "We're proud to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a Memorial he deserves and we're elated to be one-step closer to finishing this momentous project."

The historic day was capped by a National Dream Dinner and Gala at the Kennedy Center including remarks by Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, Laurence Fishburne, Nick Cannon, and Kerry Washington. The evening's performers included: Gladys Knight, Michael Bolton, and Brian McKnight.

About Tommy Hilfiger Corporation
Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs, sources and markets men’s and women’s sportswear, jeanswear and childrenswear.  The Company’s brands include Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld.  Through a range of strategic licensing agreements, the Company also offers a broad array of related apparel, accessories, footwear, fragrance, and home furnishings.  The Company’s products can be found in leading department and specialty stores throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Central and South America, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and other countries in the Far East, as well as the Company’s own network of outlet and specialty stores in the United States, Canada and Europe. 

About the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
A memorial honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Memorial will be situated adjacent to the F.D.R. Memorial and in direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. U.S. Congress passed Joint Resolutions in 1996 authorizing Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to establish a memorial honoring Dr. King to be built in Washington, DC. Groundbreaking is scheduled for November 13 and the Memorial is scheduled to be completed in 2008.
Website: http://www.mlkmemorial.org

CONTACT:

Katy Saeger / Jamie Wior 
5W Public Relations
310-566-7030
ksaeger@5wpr.com / jwior@5wpr.com

Rica Rodman Orszag
Washington DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
202-253-8974
rorszag@mlkmemorial.org

Kirsten Sharett/ Jennifer Fruzzetti
Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc
212-549-6312 / 212-549-6035
ksharett@tommy-usa.com / jfruzzetti@tommy-usa.com