Well, this is interesting.
On Thursday, TIME and Fortnite, the wildly popular multiplayer online video game, announced they launched a new exhibit centered around Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream'' speech. Yes, you read that right.
In the exhibit, which is called March Through Time, gamers can travel to 1963 to watch King's iconic speech, which is seen as the most triumphant moment throughout his life. Players will be able to watch the full speech, hold signs, cheer, and dance as the speech is shown.
Here is a trailer
In a blog post, Ryan Broseker, Community Manager at Epic Games, wrote a blog about why they are doing this March Through Time exhibit. In it, he wrote:
"Civil Rights is a struggle we still fight for to this day, and it has benefited from the collective efforts of millions of people around the world. We hope the March Through Time experience inspires the community to promote mutual respect and empathy towards all people no matter their race, religion, or orientation."
Of course, this is ridiculous exhibit. And when the news was announced, Twitter came with the jokes, with many pointing out how silly it is to mix Fortnite with one of the most significant moments in American history.
\u201cthis controller layout makes me uncomfortable\u201d— Ol\u2019 QWERTY Bastard (@Ol\u2019 QWERTY Bastard) 1629990084
\u201cMLK's "I Have a Dream" speech is currently being celebrated with a interactive online museum in Fortnite\n\nhttps://t.co/baWiQPtnT5\u201d— Dexerto (@Dexerto) 1629995771
\u201cMLK in fortnite??? wtf going on \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Spac\ud835\udc52 (@Spac\ud835\udc52) 1629994064
\u201cbreaking: confirmed: urgent: you can, in fact, gangnam style at mlk island in fortnite\u201d— jordan (@jordan) 1630004940
\u201cBRUHHHHH THIS IS WILD CUZ MERO JR WOKE ME UP LIKE \u201cDAD THEY HAVE LTM ON FORTNITE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING\u201d AND I WAS WILD GROGGY THINKING FORTNITE MADE A MLK SKIN AND I WAS LIKE \ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude33\u201d— THE KID MERO \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4 (@THE KID MERO \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4) 1629988547
\u201cMLK_Fortnite_Battle_Pass.mp4\nhttps://t.co/1O7yt3amzD\u201d— Isaac (@Isaac) 1630000473
Bernice King, King Jr.'s daughter and CEO of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, distanced herself from Fortnite's exhibit. Bernice said, "Decisions around licensing my father’s intellectual property are outside of my personal purview."
\u201cDecisions around licensing my father\u2019s intellectual property are outside of my personal purview.\u201d— Be A King (@Be A King) 1630002821
\u201cThe King Center does not license Dr. King\u2019s intellectual property, and, therefore, was not involved in any decisions concerning the endeavor with TIME Inc and PlayStation/Fortnite. These licensing decisions are made by Intellectual Properties Management (IPM). #MLK\u201d— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center (@The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center) 1630002775
Saturday is the 58 year anniversary of Martin Luther King's speech. You can celebrate by doing the Floss dance while watching the speech.
