Good Morning! Hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend. After a few delays caused by the rain, it looks like all was well in uptown Charlotte last night for the 4th of July celebration. Police reported four arrests, which is a stark contrast from the 70 arrests made Memorial Day weekend and the 21 arrests made during last year’s Independence Day celebration. Did you let safety concerns keep you from going uptown? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

The weatherman says today will be hot and humid. He is calling for a mix of clouds and sunshine early in the day, followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon with a high near 90°.

Here’s what’s brewing this morning in the news:

Chinese sculptor under fire for interpretation of King
A statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. is causing a bit of an uproar. Organizers of a $120 million, 4-acre memorial site in Washington, D.C. have been scrutinized for selecting an artist from China to sculpt a 30-foot granite likeness of the civil rights leader reports USA Today. Critics are saying the statue looks too Asian and too confrontational.

With the Aug. 28 dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial less than two months away, executive architect Ed Jackson is working hard to assure the public that the artist Lei Yixin was chosen with great care and with the support of King’s family.

Jackson said when presented with photographs of four different versions of the statue, which were created by Yixin, Martin Luther King III and sister Bernice King chose the current likeness of their father standing with his arms crossed.

Jackson said he informed the siblings that the particular image they chose had been generating controversy because some say it appears too confrontational. He said King III replied, “Well if my father was not confrontational, given what he was facing at the time, what else could he be?”

Long-term detractor Ed Dwight is a Denver-based sculptor who told USA Today that it was his understanding that he would be working on the statue and Yixin would simply assist him. He later learned that Yixin had been selected to complete the task alone.

Dwight said King would be “turning over in his grave” if he knew the statue was tied to a sculptor from a communist country. "He would rise up from his grave and walk into their offices and go, 'How dare you?'"

The King statue is projected to stand 11 feet taller than the statues in the nearby Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial, which the National Park Service says measure 19 feet each. The Aug. 28 dedication is set to coincide with the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

SPEAK OUT:  Do you think the image looks like Martin Luther King, Jr. or does it appear to be an Asian man? Is it too confrontational? Do you believe King would have any issues with an artist being commissioned from China to complete the work?
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Michigan Affirmative Action Ban Overturned

Michigan’s ban on taking race and gender into consideration for college admissions was struck down on Friday by a federal appeals court. The 2-1 decision ruled the ban to be unconstitutional, saying it burdens minorities. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law, approved by voters in 2006, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (Read more here)
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Vic back on Nike’s payroll

Nearly four years after being dropped by Nike, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has inked another endorsement deal with the brand. Vick was signed by Nike as a rookie in 2001, but his contract was terminated 6 years later after Vick filed a plea agreement admitting he was involved in a dog fighting ring. Vick served 21 months in prison. Terms of his new endorsement deal with Nike have not been released. (Read more here)

*** What's brewing on your mind this morning? Let us know in the comments section below.

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