America honors Martin Luther King with a memorial

US: Civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr gets his own memorial on the National Mall for the anniversary of his "I Have a Dream" speech Sunday, the only monument not dedicated to a president or war.

Over 300,000 people - President Barack Obama among them - are expected for a dedication ceremony on the National Mall, the huge grassy esplanade south of the White House surrounded by monuments dedicated to the country's heroes.

It will take place 48 years to the day after the civil rights leader gave his famous speech calling for racial equality and an end to discrimination. He was assassinated nearly five years later, on April 4, 1968.

The Martin Luther King Memorial is "the first on the National Mall to celebrate a man of color, hope and peace," said. AFP