Monuments Martin Luther King Jr Memorial and Bethel Chapel Ame Church

You will choose one or two specific monuments or memorial in the United States to research and teach others about. Your monument can be anything, really, as long as it is in the United States. Once you choose your monument, prepare to answer ALL of these questions in teaching an audience about it:
1. When and by whom was the monument built? Was it man-made, or a naturally made thing? Who designed it?
2. Why was it built? What is the significance of it?
3. Where is it located? (Be specific—city, state)
4. What is its purpose?
5. Why would / do people visit it? What do you and the visitors think of it?
6. What effects does the monument have on the human activity around it? Like economy / tourism, culture?
7. Be prepared to show images of your monument—as many as you need. You should give credit to wherever you find your images.
In addition to basic information your audience should know, you must make conclusions about your topic in some, or all, of these categories:
1. Is the monument powerful? How and why? (Note that powerful does not have to mean GOOD power.)
2. What is the purpose of the monument? Does the monument serve this original purpose in the 21st century? Why and how?
3. Is there anything controversial about your chosen monument(s)? Or, does the monument help / hurt society or surrounding community in a complicated way? Are there people who have a problem with this monument, and people who fight to remove the monument? Similarly, are there people who fight for the monument to survive? How, why, and where do you stand on the problem?

Last, I want you to think about the need for monuments in general. Your project needs to answer these questions:
• Do communities need monuments? Why or why not?
• Are there any other ways that we can honor or remember the past without the use of monuments? Decide and discuss where you stand on the use of monuments specifically.
For this option, the web page would be dedicated to the monument and / or your chosen text.
o The easiest platform to use for this assignment is Google Sites (https://sites.google.com/), which is a structured Wiki- and Web page-creation tool that will allow you to link words, phrases, or other textual elements to pages with critical notes. Essentially, this assignment calls for a critical close reading of a single text. It should include a critical introduction, multiple textual annotations, and a bibliography of sources that are relevant to your chosen text. If you wish, you may also embed or attach images of the text in its original publication – these are usually easy to find (email me if you have difficulty) – and you can annotate these images with critical notes related to the text’s original format and publication.
o Basically, create a visually pleasing site about your topic and your critical view on the topic.
o Some other options for blog sites that are free:
▪ Medium is the best option for a Blog / Essay hybrid.
▪ WordPress is the most popular blogging site. If you like it, you can keep it and use it for yourself in the future after this assignment.