Lincoln Memorial steps (Washington D.C.)

Now: On the Lincoln Memorial step from which King spoke, an engraved plaque was unveiled on Aug. 28, 2003. It reads: “I HAVE A DREAM … MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. … THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM … AUGUST 28, 1963.”

King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, who died in 2006, attended the unveiling ceremony.

The plaque is “on the middle level of the Lincoln Memorial steps,” says Kathy Kupper, a public affairs specialist for the National Park Service. An estimated 24 million people visit the National Mall each year.

The population within the District of Columbia is 52 percent African American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Photo: An engraved stone at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington commemorates the location where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.