so we gathered everyone in the tommy hilfiger corporation together and we tapped into the tommy hilfigerh we established 15 years ago and said, okay, we want to do something significant to show our respect for dr. king and we were one of the first corporations to donate a substantial amount of money. we created the dream concert for raising money with aretha franklin, stevie wonder and a number of stars at radio city muse sick hall music hall in new york. >> that was at radio city. i remember that. tommy, you're not talking chump change here. $7 million you donated and you were one of the first american companies, if not the first to sign on, 12 years ago. you even have one tommy hilfiger employee dedicated to the effort in washington, don't you? what is he or she doing? >> well, she's a full-time administrator. there's a lot to really get this executed properly. it's been a long time coming so they needed all the hands and all the brains they could possibly get. so we had one of our chief executives go to washington and work with them. she's been living in washington, working with them

dan akerson, tommy hilfiger, and dan gillam revealed something very telling about the moral and that is that everyonenvolved in this project had their own story to tell as they looked back at the construction of this tribute to dr. king's legacy. fraternity brothers, our sons, construction worker, corporations, government officials, ,, and everyday people played to their strengths and contributed what they could. so today we celebrate how these many came together as one to see a dream fulfilled. as co-chair of the foundation's executive leadership council, i had the distinct honor to work side-by-side with incredible men and women dedicated to building an alliance of influences, leaders, and philanthropists who drove a national campaign to construct this all inspiring memorial that will forever grace our national mall. the road we traveled while amassing this support was not always easy. for the core of our executive leadership council, it was a road we traveledor 10 years. this dedicated team made countless phone calls, arranged count -- hundreds of meetings, hosted events, and gree

a lot of corporations involved including the tommy hilfiger corporation.peak to tommy later this morning. why did he get involved, you may be surprised by the answer. stick around. we do have special coverage of the mlk memorial dedication all morning long. my live deficit, as i mentioned, includes tommy hilfiger and the reverend jackson. all tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern, a special look at king's writings in the cnn documentary "mlk papers: words that changed a nation." >>> the involuntary manslaughter trial of michael jackson's doctor, dr. conrad murray, will resume this week with the final witness expected to take the stand. that means the case could go to the jury a lot earlier than everyone expected. we'll have full details just ahead. orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. but they also go beyond banking. we installed a ge fleet monitoring system. it tracks every vehicle in their fleet. it cuts fuel use. koch: it enhances customer service. it

today, designer and manufacturer tommy hilfiger runs the tommy hilfiger group.is a $4.6 billion people yum lifestyle brand that's available worldwide. we sat down to talk to this entrepreneur about putting your business first, staying one step ahead, and always telling the truth in this "learning from the pros." ♪ >> i would say that the bankruptcy when i was 23 years old taught me a tremendous lesson, and it taught me to really watch the business end of the business. because, being a creative person, having all these dreams and all these ideas, is all well and good. but if you don't have that business acumen, and if you don't know how to balance the creative with the business, you end up with nothing. ♪ step by step oh, baby ♪ >> i think you have to realize that a brand is very much alive. and it's almost like a child, you have to nurture it, and you have to protect it. you have to continually ask yourself what the next step is. what the next material is. what the next color is. so for us to stay a step ahead of our customers, it is the very best idea. if you'r

on behalf of the corporate foundation and tommy hilfiger company, thank you for the opportunity and i think mr. -- and a thank mr.guy vggers led the company. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chairman of the memorial foundation, a board of directors r,od gillam. [applause] >> good morning. this is truly a day that the lord has made. this is a day that we honor a man who dared to stretch our imagination. he showed us that we could do more, that we could become more, and that we are indeed more. he lifted up a race of people and reminded us each day that the future is ours to design, what we stand for, what we value. dr. king not only give us a vision but also showed us the way. a man, the movement, as to this nation to embrace the message of common sense embodied in three questions -- what color is character? what race is achievement? what nationality is talent? and we needed for get a very important fourth question -- what price is neglect? he asked us to replace a climate of hate with love, justice, and peace, an elusive peace. the stars agen

on behalf of the corporate foundation and tommy hilfiger company, thank you for the opportunity and ik mr.guy vggers led the company. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chairman of the memorial foundation, a board of directors r,od gillam. [applause] >> good morning. this is truly a day that the lord has made. this is a day that we honor a man who dared to stretch our imagination. he showed us that we could do more, that we could become more, and that we are indeed more. he lifted up a race of people and reminded us each day that the future is ours to design, what we stand for, what we value. dr. king not only give us a vision but also showed us the way. a man, the movement, as to this nation to embrace the message of common sense embodied in three questions -- what color is character? what race is achievement? what nationality is talent? and we needed for get a very important fourth question -- what price is neglect? he asked us to replace a climate of hate with love, justice, and peace, an elusive peace. the stars agenda as words of his assas

everyone here is practically wearing these white hats that tommy hilfiger handed out that have an instripgseches here, not just by king's daughter, bernice king, and by civil rights leaders like an dry young, who made a reference to the next election and the need to re-elect the president. and al sharpton. the president himself was pretty political today as you heard, candy. >> he certainly was. did you get a sense -- because i know you've been talking to folks down there very early, talking to folks all day long -- was this an opportunity to come out and see history being made? did they come out to see the president? what was the general feel for why people came today? >> reporter: well, certainly a sense of history. i believe everyone here, we e spoke with, talked about how important it was to come because this is history and what dr. king stood for and being honored today. they wanted to be here, because as you mentioned all throughout the program, this is the fist monument on the mall to a nonpresident or war hero, the first to a black man, i believe. so they wanted to be here for this

today, designer and manufacturer tommy hilfiger runs a $4.6 billion premium lifestyle brand availableorldwide. we sat down to talk to him about putting your business first, staying one step ahead and always telling the truth in this learning from the pros. ♪ >> i would say the bankruptcy when i was 23 years old taught me a tremendous lesson. it taught me to really watch the business end of the business. being a creative person, having all these dreams and ideas is well and good but if you don't have that business acuman, you end up with nothing. ♪ step by step >> you have to realize a brand is very much alive. it's almost like a child. you have to nurture it and you have to protect it. you have to continuely ask yourself what the next step is. what the next material or color is. for us to stay a step ahead of our customers, it is the very best idea. if you are a step behind, you fall off the cliff. if you are too far ahead, they don't get it. any successful person is going to be under the microscope and going to at some point feel the heat on something. i think the best way to combat

and my friend tommy hilfiger among the speakers and may speak to him tomorrow.ay we are talking to reverend al sharpton about the king remoirl and the march for jobs he is organizing happens today in washington. he will join us at the top of the next hour. much more on the dedication tonight when t.j. has an exclusive and emotional interview with six members of the dr. king's inner circle. one of them is congressman john lewis. >> you know when dr. king received the nobel peace prize in 1964, he spoke about -- >> we cry for joy. we don't cry for pain. when the cup runs over, he cries. >> the world house. they were all living in the same house. it's one house. it's not just american house. but the world house. >> that's freedom's foot soldiers, a conversation with t.j. holmes, it is something you won't want to miss happening tonight, 7:30 eastern here on cnn. >>> new rules for british royals could be coming after 300 years of being passed over. women could get a clear path to the british throne. we'll have that story in our morning passport, next. i've been takin

like these tommy hilfiger sweat pants. the retail pants ave a well-made drawstring...e outlet's shoestring version pookk cheap.(sot: tod marks) "the boottmmline is that outlet shopping is worth the trip. the merrhandise quality in most instances is fine. and pn our shopping trip, we saved as much as 61 percent!" &pconsumer reports says you should no longer assume you're getting leftover merchandise at all outlet storee. coach, sunglass hut, and other retailers told consumer reports they sell nnw items made specifically for the outlets. coming up in our 7 o'clock hour... ptts the car that's running strong... after more than a ámillion milesá on the road. how many miles were racked up... each month. ((joel live tease)) you're watching fox 45 morning news.. all local.. all morning. switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. you guys can see it... we felt it...wasn't good footba. football...a tough loss for the ravees...as they're eaten alive by the jaguars. wh

fashion designer tommy hilfiger just got on stage. he was a huge donor to this project.s a project that a lot of people really feel has been long overdue. celebrating his life, his legacy, his dreams. after more than a decade of planning, many have gathered in washington for the martin luther king, jr. memorial dedication. among those attending, king's family, civil rights leaders, even president obama. the 1600-ton granite monument depicts the leader. from a mountain of despair, just a stone of hope. >> i think that for future generations, they will know what dr. king stood for. righteousness, justice and peace. >> reporter: the executive architect says the project was both professional and personal. >> this is going -- this has been a labor of love for me for 15 years. >> reporter: just as king's life was riddled with roadblocks, the memorial's construction did not escape controversy. at 30 feet high, it's taller than the nearby statues of jefferson and lincoln and their meme omples its sculpture a chinese nationalist, not an person, but these hurdles could not curb it

dan akerson, tommy be hilfiger and rod gillhamre vealed something very significant aboue the memorialdedicated today, and that is everyone involvedjet with this project had their own story to tell as they look back to the construction of thistr tribute to dr. king's legacy. fraternity brothers, artisans, construction workers,, corporations, government officials, architects and everyday people played to their strengths and contributed what they could.on so today we celebrate how thesee many came together as one to see a dream fulfilled.see as co-of chair of the foundation's executive f leadership council,ou i had the distinct honor to work side by side with incredible men and women dedicated to building an alliance of influencers, leaders and philanthropists who drove our national campaign to construct this awe-inspiringn to memorial that will forever gracl our national mall. the road we traveled while amassing this support was notam always easy, and for the core oa our executive leadership council it was a road we traveled forncl ten years. but this dedicated team made countless phone