Pitt, Affleck to auction motorcycles for charity

Morgan Freeman organizing effort to raise funds for MLK memorial

	The sleek, custom-made motorcycle donated by Ben Affleck to an online charity auction to benefit a new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C. Morgan Freeman recruited A-list pals Affleck, Brad Pitt and Laurence Fishburne to donate motorcycles.
AP

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updated 7:34 p.m. ET March 27, 2006

NEW YORK - Morgan Freeman has friends in high places.

Celeb pals Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck and Laurence Fishburne have donated sleek, custom-made motorcycles to an online charity auction to benefit a planned memorial in Washington for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“People are always quoting” King, Freeman said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. “He’s remembered as our prince of peace, of civil rights. We owe him something major that will keep him and his memory alive.”

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The four bikes — two from Affleck and one each from Pitt and Fishburne — are up for bid on the Charity Folks Web site through Friday, Freeman said.

Freeman, who won an Oscar for his role in “Million Dollar Baby,” said he hopes “people will overbid” for a good cause.

Other celebrity items are being offered in the auction, including wedge-heeled shoes designed and signed by Jennifer Lopez and a DVD of “Catch Me if You Can” signed by Tom Hanks.

The memorial will be built on the National Mall, according to the Web site for Build the Dream, which is promoting the project. The centerpiece of the memorial, the “Stone of Hope,” will feature a 30-foot likeness of King.

Its location will create a visual “line of leadership” from the Lincoln Memorial, where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, to the Jefferson Memorial, the Web site says.

Groundbreaking is scheduled this year, with the goal of dedicating the site in 2008.