Lifts Fundraising Total To $100 Million

In celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Civil Rights March on Washington, on Thursday Harry E. Johnson, Sr. President and CEO of the Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc., announced The Boeing Company will donate $1 million toward building a lasting Memorial to Dr. King on the National Mall.

"On behalf of Boeing and its employees, I am proud to announce this gift with the sincere hope that, through this Memorial, the power of Dr. King's example will endure and become a reality in our lifetime," said James Bell, Boeing corporate president, chief financial officer and executive vice president. "Striving to create a better future by bringing people together, enabling communication and protecting peace is what inspires our 160,000 employees everyday. We are tremendously honored to support the Memorial as an enduring reminder of Dr. King's legacy of inclusion, hope and freedom."

Bell made the announcement at the Unity Prayer Breakfast that Boeing sponsored August 28 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO. In addition to Bell and Johnson, some 1,000 civil rights and faith leaders, government officials and others -- many in town for the Democrat Party's National Convention -- attended the event.

"As a result of the generous donation by Boeing, the Memorial Foundation has reached the $100 million fundraising mark and we continue to move forward with excitement as we set forth to raise the remaining $20 million needed to build the Memorial," said Johnson.

Boeing joins a number of major donors to the Memorial, including General Motors, NBA/WNBA, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Walt Disney, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; The Ford Motor Fund, and Toyota, among many others.

FMI: www.buildthedream.org, www.boeing.com/