Plaque honoring actor instead has name of MLK's killer

LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA - A plaque intended to honor deep-voiced actor James Earl Jones at this city&#39;s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration instead had this extremely incorrect message: ``Thank you James Earl Ray for keeping the dream alive.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The plaque, to be presented at Lauderhill&#39;s annual King celebration Saturday, was made by Georgetown, Texas-based Merit Industries at the request of Adpro, a Lauderhill-based business. <br> <br> But instead of thanking Jones, the plaque erroneously honors Ray, who shot and killed King in 1968. <br> <br> ``It had an immediate chill. It was eerie,&#39;&#39; said Adpro owner Gerald Wilcox, 43, as he showed the plaque displaying words that, he said, ``deeply hurt.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Wilcox said he knew the error didn&#39;t come from his company, but he sent a company secretary searching through order forms, just to be sure. <br> <br> The plaque features a 15-cent stamp of King and stamps of six other famous African-Americans, including Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Laurence Dunbar. <br> <br> The finished product arrived Monday and, even without seeing it, officials in this Fort Lauderdale suburb were angry. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s a real outrage,&#39;&#39; Commissioner Margaret Bates told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. ``To confuse James Earl Jones with James Earl Ray ... Just think of the significance.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Jones is a Tony-Award winning actor who provided the voice for Darth Vader from ``Star Wars&#39;&#39; and Mufasa from ``The Lion King.&#39;&#39; He spoke Tuesday during a tribute to King at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Decatur, Ga. <br> <br> Merit&#39;s owner, Herbert Miller, called the mistake a copy error, not a slur. <br> <br> ``We have a lot of people who don&#39;t speak English. Accidentally, one of the girls who doesn&#39;t know James Earl Jones from a man on the moon accidentally typed James Earl Ray,&#39;&#39; said Miller, who offered to correct the plaque if Adpro returns it. <br> <br> Wilcox accused Miller&#39;s company of being ``culturally insensitive&#39;&#39; and is having the damage repaired locally so it will be ready Saturday.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/203363