The NFL Players Association is pledging to raise or donate $1 million to help build the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial planned for the National Mall.
DeMaurice Smith, the association’s executive director, announced the pledge Wednesday at a luncheon with the Congressional Black Caucus. He says King was an inspiration to many players.
The gift brings the fundraising total to $107 million of the $120 million needed to build the memorial.
Also Wednesday, the foundation leading the memorial effort presented its Defender of Democracy awards to Sen. Edward Kennedy and Sen. Edward Brooke. Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island accepted the award on behalf of his father who died last month.
Brooke was the first African American to be elected to the Senate by popular vote.
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