The renowned poet and author Maya Angelou has criticized an inscription on the new monument to the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Washington, D.C. The inscription is a paraphrase from a sermon King gave two months before his assassination in 1968, in which he discussed what might be said at a eulogy in the event of his death. King told the congregation, “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.” The inscription on the monument reads: “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.” Angelou argues the truncated quotation diminishes King’s words and makes him seem arrogant and egotistical. Angelou was a consultant on the monument project but was not approached about the quotation. The monument’s designers say the abbreviated version was necessary due to limited space.