Before many Americans were able to come and see the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall, musician Stevie Wonder got that chance. But if you’re wondering how Wonder, who is blind, was able to accomplish this feat, he explained it at Wednesday night’s Honoring Global Leaders for Peace gala at the Washington Convention Center.
“I want to personally and emotionally thank you, Harry Johnson, for making it possible for me to see the monument,” Wonder said, generously thanking the president and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. “He made it possible for me to go up in the cherry picker and touch the face of Dr. King,” Wonder, who was a surprise guest at Wednesday’s event, added.
Wonder was so inspired that he decided to make is possible for other blind individuals to have the same experience. “What I’d like to do before I say anything more is, through the Wonder Foundation, commit the Foundation to $10,000 a year that will allow as many people that are blind to go up in the cherry picker and see this,” he promised. “And if that don’t cover it, I guess I’ll have to sell some more records.”
Wonder then spoke briefly about King and performed “Visions” for the crowd. “I want to do this song because I actually wrote it in 1972 on the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” Wonder explained.
