John Makely / NBC News

The Martin Luther King Jr. Monument stands within view of the Washington Monument on the mall in Washington, D.C.

John Makely / NBC News

Latanya Rogers, left, and Kenyae Reese, right, pose for a photo during their visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

On Sunday afternoon as President Obama was being officially sworn in to begin his second term in the White House, thousands of people visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial nearby on the Washington Mall. 

John Makely / NBC News

Bernita King, of Los Angeles, Calif.. takes a photograph during her visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Kenyae Reese, who is from South Bend, Ind., but now lives in Washington, was able to describe the atmosphere as busloads of students and tour groups began to fill the space. "I think it speaks to the growth of the country and really of the world that we're standing here and we finally have a monument to recognize Dr. King. I think it's inspiring to our young people of all races. I don't think it's just an African-American thing.  I think its wonderful that we're able to have these celebrations as well, but I think it speaks to the character of our nation and all of us can celebrate and be a part of this. You look out and see people of different races celebrating, so we've come a long way."

Related content
Slideshow: Martin Luther King Jr.
Photoblog: More MLK posts

John Makely/ NBC News.com

Early visitors to the Martin Luther King Jr. monument take pictures.

David Goldman / AP

The residential portion of the Sweet Auburn Historic District, including the home where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was born at right. Today Auburn Avenue is a shell of its former self, the bustling mix of banks, night clubs, churches, meat markets and funeral homes long gone, replaced with crumbling facades and cracked sidewalks. Hundreds of thousands of people still flock to Auburn Avenue to see King's birth home, the church where he preached and the crypt where he and his wife, Coretta, are buried. But tourists have little reason to linger. While King's legacy has been preserved, Auburn Avenue's business community has never recovered from the exodus of the black community that supported it. This week, the area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places' 11 Most Endangered list for the second time since 1992 in hopes of spurring preservation-oriented development.

David Goldman / AP

Tourists visit the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta.

David Goldman / AP

A visitor stands before the crypt of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta, along Auburn Avenue.

David Goldman / AP

A man walks under the Interstate 75/85 overpass whose construction cut the Auburn neighborhood in half.

David Goldman / AP

National Park Rangers stand outside the original Atlanta Life Insurance Company building on Auburn Avenue, dating back to 1905.

David Goldman / AP

A man walks down the street after asking club goers for spare change in the Auburn Avenue district.

David Goldman / AP

A man pushes a stroller across Auburn Avenue.

AP reports that the neighborhood is caught between preservation and development:

"If we lose any more historic fabric, Auburn Avenue will probably lose its historic designation. You can't just have a few buildings left," said Mtaminika Youngblood, chairwoman of the Historic District Development Corporation, which has shepherded the restoration of the area for more than two decades.

Generations ago, much of Auburn Avenue's prosperity was born out of necessity, a product of segregation. The downtown thoroughfare anchored a community of homes and businesses that depended on each other.

Read more...

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Mike Brown / The Commercial Appeal via AP

Marchers parade down Second Street during the annual Martin Luther King Day parade through downtown Memphis, Tenn. Monday, Jan. 16.

Takaaki Iwabu / The News & Observer via AP

Andrew Boudreaux, 10, leads the procession of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial March in Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 16.

Ben Earp / The Star via AP

Participants make their way along a sidewalk during the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in Shelby, N.C.

Nick de la Torre / /Houston Chronicle AP

Candi Flora, a historian wearing actual irons from the days of slavery, raises her arms during the 34th Annual "Original" Dr. Martin Luther King Birthday Parade and Celebration in Houston.

Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

Occupy Wall Street members march during a candlelight vigil to honor Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in New York.

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Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

US President Barack Obama (C) and First Lady Michelle Obama (C-bottom) and their daughter Malia (2nd-L) work at the Browne Education Center in Washington, DC, on January 16, 2012, to take part in a community service project in celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and in honor of Dr. King's life and legacy. AFP Photo/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Jewel Samad / AFP - Getty Images

US President Barack Obama paints a quote of Martin Luther King Jr. on the wall of a library at the Browne Education Center in Washington, DC, on January 16, 2012, to take part in a community service project in celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and in honor of Dr. King’s life and legacy. AFP Photo/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

AP reports:

President Barack Obama evoked Martin Luther King, Jr.'s own words about public service Monday as Obama and his family celebrated the life of the late civil rights leader with a volunteer project.

The president, along with wife Michelle Obama and daughter Malia, joined other volunteers at Browne Education Center in Washington.

Read the full story.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

First lady Michelle Obama (R) stands with her daughter Malia (2nd R) as U.S. President Barack Obama (L) delivers remarks during a day of service to honor Martin Luther King, Jr, at the Browne Education Campus school in Washington, on Jan. 16.

Evan Vucci / AP

From left, Liza Joy Marcato of Hillsdale, N.Y., Beverly Steed of Washington, and Marcus Knausenberger of Devin, Pa., sing after a ceremony at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, on Jan. 16.

Many gathered this morning at the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial along the National Mall. The memorial opened in August and features many quotations from the legendary civil rights leader. One of the quotes inscribed on a stone wall is being corrected after many complaints that the abridged version of the quote did not accurately reflect King's words. For more information, see the video at the end of the post.

AP reports:

Some gaze upon this figure in silence. Some smile and pull out cell phone cameras. Others chat about how closely the statue resembles King. And some are moved to tears.

"Just all that this man did so that we could do anything and be anything," said Brandolyn Brown, 26, of Cheraw, South Carolina, who visited the memorial Saturday with her aunt and cousin.

"I know it took a lot more than him to get to where we are, but he was a big part of the movement."

Read the full story.

Evan Vucci / AP

People gather at sunrise at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington,on Jan. 16, for a ceremony to mark his legacy. The Washington Monument is at center.

Evan Vucci / AP

Angelique Marcus of Baltimore, Md. touches a quote on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, on Jan. 16, before a ceremony to honor his legacy.

Evan Vucci / AP

Sandra Everett of Springdale, Md., left, and her granddaughter Jada Shepherd, 7, of Springdale, Md., look up at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, on Jan. 16, before a ceremony to honor his legacy.

Photojournalist Andrew Lichtenstein is documenting sites important to America's past, with the idea that what he finds there reflects on what's important to people in the present.  Introduction: About this project

Andrew Lichtenstein / Facing Change

Galveston, Texas

Above: A crowd listens to the annual reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by local officials at a ceremony for Juneteenth, a Texas holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865. On that day slaves were told by a Union general in occupied Galveston that the Emancipation Proclamation, written two years earlier by Abraham Lincoln, had set them free.

Andrew Lichtenstein / Facing Change

Cross Keys, Virginia

Above: There is no marker or monument at Cabin Pond, a small swamp in rural Southampton County, Va., where the slave Nat Turner first received a vision that it was his assigned task to free America's slaves with a rebellion. Cabin Pond is also where Turner planned the rebellion in the summer of 1831 and where he fled to hide after the revolt's failure. A few weeks later he was captured about a mile away. Turner's rebellion so terrified slave owners in the region that they attempted to erase it from history, as well as enacting new laws that made it illegal to teach slaves to read or write.

Andrew Lichtenstein / Facing Change

Montgomery, Alabama

Above: At the exact bus stop where Rosa Parks boarded a city bus for her famous trip to fight segregation in 1955, participants in a Sons of Confederate Veterans "Confederate Heritage Rally" wait to march up Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery, Ala., to recreate the 1861 inauguration of Jefferson Davis. Strongly denying that the Civil War had anything to do with the issue of slavery, speakers at the rally celebrated Jeff Davis as “the last president of a truly free Republic.”

Andrew Lichtenstein / Facing Change

Lake Placid, New York

Above: John Brown's last family home outside Lake Placid, N.Y., is a preserved National Historic Site. Brown moved to the farm, in what was then called North Elba, in the late 1850s at the invitation of the wealthy abolitionist Gerrit Smith. He came to the remote Adirondack Mountains to help black farmers to whom Smith had given land grants. Soon enough, however, he left the community, known as Timbuktu, to plan his raid on the federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Va.

Andrew Lichtenstein / Facing Change

Memphis, Tennessee

Above: The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., where Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, is now the National Civil Rights Museum. The museum recreated King’s last room, with cigarettes in the ashtray and the bed sheet pulled down. Mahalia Jackson’s song “Oh Precious Lord,” King’s favorite song, plays over a set of speakers, and visitors from around the world still come to pay their respect, to both the man and the dream.

Editor's note: This is Part 1 in a three-part series, History through the lens of today, that we're publishing in PhotoBlog this week.

• Introduction
• Part Two: Native Americans

Lichtenstein continues this work with the help of a grant from The Aftermath Project. 

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Charles Dharapak / AP

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is seen Monday, Aug. 22, 2011 in Washington, ahead of its dedication on Aug. 28.

Public art can be difficult. Artists and funding organizations are never going to please everyone. I remember the controversy when the Vietnam Memorial was built. Opponents blasted the design as “a black gash of shame.” Many veterans voiced displeasure.

However, time has shown how powerful Maya Ying Lin’s design was. The Vietnam Memorial receives over 3 million visitors each year and has become something of national shrine.

Controversy also accompanied the MLK Memorial unveiling today in Washington D.C.  Critics are upset that the work of a Chinese artist was chosen.  They say MLK’s 30-foot likeness is too confrontational and appears too Asian.

MLK’s son, Martin Luther King III, told USA TODAY that he likes the statue."I've seen probably 50 sculptures of my dad, and I would say 47 of them are not good reflections — that's not to disparage an artist," King said. "This particular artist — he's done a good job."

The memorial is scheduled for dedication on Aug. 28 which will coincide with the anniversary of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

The statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is unveiled during the soft opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington.

Shelby County Register's office / AP

In this 1968 photo released Wednesday, March 30, 2011 by the Shelby County Register's office, authorities escort James Earl Ray to the Shelby County, Memphis, Tenn. jail.

AP reports
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Long-forgotten photos that show James Earl Ray being brought to jail after his arrest for assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. were unveiled Wednesday to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the civil rights leader's death.

Dozens of black-and-white photos, along with letters Ray wrote from jail and other documents, were found a few years ago among old county records in a warehouse in east Memphis, Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood said. A few photos were posted on The Commercial Appeal's website to accompany a story published Wednesday, and Leatherwood later made the rest available on a county website.

See the full story here.

Shelby County Register's office / AP

Sheriff William N. Morris Jr., second from left, and deputies process James Earl Ray after his arrest.

Shelby County Register's office / AP

James Earl Ray is seen in the Shelby County Jail after his arrest.