clinton. but not the kind of birthday you'd think. on hand, lady gaga, usher and el en ellen de generes. thchlts morning on the national mall, the four-acre, $120 million martin luther king jr. memorial will be dedicated. our athena jones is in the mall right now and joins us now live. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. as you can see, the crowd is building here. in just a little while, this dedication ceremony which was postponed, as you know, from august, will begin. we expect to hear from several civil rights leaders like jesse jackson, like john lewis. also martin luther king iii and bernice king. president obama will also be speaking. we thought we'd take a look at some of the scup tur itself and some of the controversy surrounding it. powerful and imposing, a 30-foot tall statue of dr. martin luther king jr. emerging from a stone of hope. it made an immediate impression on his son. >> the very first time that i came to the site i was almost overwhelmed. i really was impressed by this artist. he was able to capture the essence of my dad. >> reporter: but not everyone is pleased with how the statue turned out or with the fact that the memorial foundation chose a chinese artist to carve it. denver-based ed white, a 70-year-old artist sculpted seven scat ttatues of king beli it missed the mark. >> having a seven-foot sculpture of this man, he would not appreciate that because that was not him. >> reporter: dwight was involved in the project early on and is credited for sculpting small stone of hope donor gifts. foundation panel shows the chinese sculptor to carve the statue. >> we got the best man for the job. more. >> reporter: more than two decades in the making, inscribed on the walls are excerpts of king's speeches, a moving display for visitors. >> it is beautiful. >> it is impressive. >> it is elation. i feel like i'm standing on holy ground and i am so proud to be here right now. >> reporter: as well as a source of debate. >> it does not look exactly like martin luther king that i personally saw before he was assassinated, in person. many times. >> reporter: a washington pastor who met king in the early 1960s says the sculpture captures the spirit of the time. >> it's a hard piece to let you know that this is not a monument to easy times. >> reporter: as for the chinese nationality of a statue's creator, the sculptor said in august through a translator that king was not just an american icon. >> martin luther king is not only a hero of americans, he's also a hero of the world. >> reporter: king's son agrees. >> martin luther king jr. was a global citizen. >> athena, i suppose it's no surprise that there's going to be controversy about other things as well when it comes to this memorial. specifically one of the 14 inscriptions. poet maya angelou is quite upset about this. what are you talking about here? >> reporter: that's right. so as you mentioned, there are inscriptions all around this site and on the actual stone of hope that you have this 30-foot tall image of dr. king emerging from one of the inscriptions there has been dramatically abbreviated. it says right now carved on that stone, "i was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness." the actual king quote was much longer than that. i'll read it for you. he says, "if you want to say that i was a drum major, say that i was a drum major for justice. say that i was a drum major for peace. i was a drum major for righteousness and all of the other shallow things will not matter." now maya angelou is a writer so words mean a lot to her. she's argued that by taking out the beginning phrase, "say if i was a drum major, if you want to say that," it makes him sound like he's arrogant and not the humble man that he's known as being. there's a gramarian who's weighed in. martin luther king jr.'s children told fredricka whitfield they understand that that quote will be corrected but at this point it is clear how and when that might happen. >> i would say so. i mean it is literally set in stone. i can't imagine that this is going to be an easy thing to correct. but athena jones, thank you for that report. we look forward to seeing you a bit later on this morning. earlier i talk to one of the members of king's inner circle, the reverend jesse jackson and i asked him about the moment when dr. king thought about briefly quitting the civil rights movement. watch. >> he was under so much pressure. once he took on the vietnam war, he was so bitterly attacked by the press, by civil rights organizations. before we went to memphis, "i thought about quitting and maybe i should stop. i've done a lot in 13 years." he said, "i thought if i would fast to the point of death my friends would come to my aid and we could regroup our coalition. he said we got to turn the minus into a plus. it was kind of like jesujesus, prayed and slept. he went through the same kind of dramatic rhythm. >> coming up later in the hour, my conversation with one of the first donors to the monument. surprising but true, it is actually designer tommy hilfiger. coming up on "state of the union" with candy crowley, dr. king's friend and confidant, georgia congressman john lewis. the occupy wall street movement against big banks, corporate greed sparked arrests in several cities around the globe this weekend. one of the biggest demonstrations in times square in the heart of new york. police say most of the protesters were peaceful but more than 40 were arrested when they tried to hold a sit-in on a side street. the movement also sparked this demonstration on the famous las vegas strip. police say the crowd was loud but peaceful. and hundreds took part in occupy protests in downtown denver, colorado as well. protesters blocked a street near the capitol building and. police there made several arrests. the occupy movement began exactly 30 days ago and has sparked further demonstrations across the globe. the protest turned violent in rome, for instance. police say demonstrators threw a firebomb into an interior ministry building. more than 70 people were injured in the protests. among them 40 police officers. protesters were on the streets of iceland's capital as well this weekend. the central website for the movement united movement for change says protests are actually happening in hundreds of cities in 82 countries. demonstrators in taiwan marched in front of a luxury mall calling for change. and the occupy movement saw hundreds of demonstrators in the streets of paris as well. we're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines at the cnnpolitics.com desk. here's what's crossing right now. michele bachmann's campaign raised nearly $4 million in the third quarter but it spent nearly $6 million. the national report shows the bachmann campaign with more than $500,000 in debt. nevada republicans are refusing to change their january 14th caucus date. nevada, as some of you know, is locked in a political scheduling fight with new hampshire, the state that for decades has held the first in the nation primary. new hampshire law requires it hold its primary at least a week before the others. and herman cain wins big in a tea party straw poll in south carolina. cain picked up 55% of the vote. newt gingrich finished a distant second with 14.5%. conservative activists from 25 tea party groups in south carolina took part in this non-binding straw poll. candy crowley will join us in a couple of minutes. she'll prevee her live interview with gop candidate newt gingrich. also, the upcoming republican presidential debate on tuesday in las vegas. be sure to join cnn for the western republican presidential debate. anderson cooper will moderate. again it is tuesday night, 8:00 p.m. eastern time right here on cnn. well, it's rare for the president to pick sides publicly in a boxing match. but you don't hear a story like this one every day. one boxer stepped into the ring for the first time last night at the age of 52! and, boy, did he put on a show. we're going to have his inspiring story in a few minutes. i'm meteorologist bonnie schneider. we are tracking windy weather across the great lakes and possibly record warmth in the southeast. temperatures will be soaring into the mid 80s in atlanta, for example, today. i'll tell you all about it coming up next on cnn sunday morning.burg soup. 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[ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex. the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended brand. joe carter from hln sports joining me now. joe, we were talking about this incredible story of this 52-year-old boxer. duey bozella. in prison 26 years for a murder he didn't commit. gets out, exonerated, gets into the ring professional. how did he do last night. >> great news -- he won his first and last professional fight. why is it his last? he's 52 years old. he doesn't plan on having a boxing career but his life-long ring was to fight in a professional match. golden boy productions had been training with him since july and he fought on the undercard of the bernard hopkins fight. he beat his opponent. the crowd loved it. he says, nope, i'm done, i'm hanging up my gloves. >> what's your next fight, duey bozella? >> my next fight is to work with kids. the bozella foundation, work with kids, keep them off the streets and let them know with boxing they can turn their life around. that's what this is all about. >> congratulations, champ. anything else you want to say? >> you know something? i would like to say that, you know, dreams do happen if you never give up hope and to always believe in yourself. don't let nobody tell you what you can't do. >> the best part about this story is how forgiving he has become. >> 26 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. that is remarkable. and i wish he'd get back into the ring again! i know he's got other fights to fight but -- >> yeah. i'm anxious to see the next chapter of his life. you know how this whole nba lock jou lockout thing is dragging on? 14 cities across the cities, nba cities, mayors are concerned that a canceled nba season might actually have a negative effect on the local economy. these 14 mayors actually sent letters to -- or excuse me, a letter to the owners and players association basically asking these two sides, please settle your differences already. these are not major money making markets. markets like indianapolis, sacramento, houston just to name a few. the nba certainly needs middle-sized markets. they do have an effect on local economies. these cities need -- >> how far apart are they? is there any sense they're moving any closer? >> no. there's a sense they are so far apart. two sides are going to meet on tuesday and actually meet in front of a federal mediator. david stern this week says his gut feeling is they're going to start canceling games around christmastime and christmas could be out of the mix as well which is a huge day for the nba, marquee match-ups. but these sides are both far apart. >> david stern can't be happy about this. >> both sides. players -- no one's making money. they're losing from $350 million to $375 million a month. >> that's not chump change. joe carter, thanks so much. dr. martin luther king jr. is not just an icon here in the united states. of course the reverend and his message have been embraced by people in countries all over the world. we'll have that story next in our "morning passport." stay with us. 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[ male announcer ] get low prices every day on everything to prepare for cold and flu season. we're so confident in our low prices, we back 'em with our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. ♪ you're looking at a live picture of our nation's capital on the national mall. you see the choir singing there. it is a historic day in our nation's capital, the dedication of the martin luther king jr. memorial. 14 years in the making, $120 million memorial, four acres and it is just spectacular. welcome back, everybody. the legacy of dr. martin luther king jr. stretches beyond the borders of the united states. his influence felt around the world. we talked about this earlier this morning in our "morning passport." so we think about the impact we have and obviously we think immediately about here in the united states with the civil rights movement. but obviously his footprint was felt around the world. >> and in london, at westminster abbey, in 1998 they unveiled a beautiful monument to martin luther king and he's there amongst the row of christian martyrs, right about the west entrance to westminster abbey. but in fact he's honored, as you just said, all over the world. there's even an mlk center in havana, cuba that promotes christian and social responsibility. and we know that there are over 700 streets, martin luther king boulevard -- >> just here in the u.s. >> -- exactly. but there's one in italy! in lombardio. >> where is that? >> milan. >> oh. northern italy. his global reputation extends even to ghana. in 957 he was invited to ghana by the then-president. ghana was the first african country to gain independence and he was invited on behalf of the newly inaugurated president which was rather extraordinary at the time. had he no official role. but there he met vice president nixon and martin luther king said to nixon, "i want you to visit us in alabama. we are seeking the same freedom that the gold coast," which became ghana, "is celebrating." >> he was the youngest man at 35 to win the nobel peace prize. >> but one of my favorite and the most poignant is in 1994, when mandela wins the election, there's nelson mandela and he's standing just having won the election, looks at coretta scott king and quotes the man that he spoke about as the great freedom fighter and went "free, free, free at last." a beautiful moment. so certainly today, an extraordinary man, an extraordinary monument and an extraordinary moment. coming up in less than ten minutes, a look at the history of the church martin luther king jr. helped make famous. a story about the legacy of atlanta's historic ebenezer baptist church in our "faces of faith" segment. that's next. and how far would you go for a free pass to an amusement park? what these guys are willing to eat. and it isn't for the squeamish. we'll explain. taking a look at stories happening cross-country. a california woman says she sees jesus, mary and angels in her prized possession. but she's parting with it, selling it on ebay. now the woman says she found the nut-like keepsake five years ago under an oak tree. her own daughter is a bit skeptical about it. she says to her the markings look more like aliens. in suburban atlanta, people were willing to eat hissing cockroaches for an annual pass to six flags over georgia. is that something you would do? each contestant had two minutes to chow down and they had the choice between two flavors, mexican or barbecue. in fayette county, west virginia, more than 400 people take a big leap. they kicked off their annual bridge day celebration with a base jump. thank god there is a parachute. it is billed as the largest extreme sports event in the world. it is 24 minutes after the hour. bonnie schneider has another check of the weather. bonnie, it is going to be windy, windy, windy across much of the great lakes. isn't it? >> i just can't get that cockroach -- >> take your pick. they're both awful. >> exactly. i'll pass on both. oh, thank you for showing that again. okay. well, here's what we are looking at. windy weather across much of michigan. yesterday the wind gusts were just intense. look at this -- 49 money at hammond bay. winds were very, very strong. that's why over 50,000 people are still without power in michigan. we're also seeing strong winds across green bay in wisconsin and look for winds to continue. our computer models for today, areas you see here highlighted show where we're seeing some of the stronger winds and to the purples and blues. we'll be watching for that continue to across the great lakes today. but then some changes are in the forecast. we're looking for winds to develop and get stronger later this week. right here in the center of the country, there's a reason for that. we have a big cold front that's going to change everything. while today's highs are the in the 80s across much of the eastern half, southeast really of the country, big cold front's coming through and it is going to change everything dramatically. low pressure will bring some heavy rain to areas in the ohio valley but then the temperatures plummet by 20 degrees towards the end of this week. changes are on way. take out the fall sweaters if you haven't already, you'll need them by friday. >> thank you. during the civil rights movement, the ebenezer baptist church was ground zero. much of the movement's planning was done right there, thanks to dr. king. up next -- the legacy of one of the most famous churches in america. ♪ my sunglasses. [ tires screech ] ♪ oh, it was the first time i fell in love ♪ ♪ the first time i felt my heart ♪ [ man ] people say i'm forgetful. [ horn honking ] ♪ ...all through the night [ man ] maybe that's why we go to so many memorable places. ♪ [ male announcer ] the subaru outback. love the road you're on. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. welcome back, everybody, to cnn sunday morning. i'm alina cho, t.j. holmes is on assignment. it is 29 minutes after the hour. here's what's happening. there's no question that the heart and soul of the civil rights movement was embedded in the black church. one name