WASHINGTON — On a gray, autumn morning, a national dedication nearly a decade in the making broke ground on the Tidal Basin here.

An estimated 3,000 people turned out for the Nov. 13 groundbreaking ceremony for the memorial that will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Spearheaded by the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, the memorial and educational center will feature King's life and accomplishments. The four-acre site on the Northeast corner of the Tidal Basin within the precinct of the Jefferson Memorial is scheduled to be complete by spring 2008. A visitor's center and donor wall will also be housed nearby.

To date, fundraising efforts have garnered more than $65.5 million toward the $100 million goal. At an Oct. 25 meeting, credit union leaders donated $60,000 for the effort. The $486 million Vantage Credit Union donated $50,000 and CUES donated $10,000. The credit union movement's goal is to raise at least $2 million, according to Hubert Hoosman, funding chairperson for the African-American Credit Union Coalition and president/CEO of Vantage.