A Dream Deferred?

(Warning: I am back and so is my soapbox)

Today is Martin Luther King Day and unlike other years where I have just let that fact slip by without much thought other than how I get a day of no classes, I decided to really think about Dr. King and his legacy. So I hauled out my Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Speeches that I have kept from undergrad (the book is awesome, fyi) and re-read Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and honestly I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. For all the positively and feelings of hope instilled in the message of his address and for all of the changes that have occurred since then, it also served as a brutal reminder of how far we as a nation have yet to go. I couldn’t help but wonder if Dr. King’s dream would ever be realized and how long that realization would take, because to me that speech could very well have been written yesterday. Sure we have done away with institutionalized segregation and bigotry but have we gotten to a place where we can stand-up and call each other sisters and brothers? Are we not still a land full of segregation and oppression?

If you don’t think segregation and oppression still exist talk to a Mexican immigrant who is accused of stealing American jobs, live a life in the day of a young Islamic-American man who is often regarded as terror suspect in his own country, or go to a small southern town with an all-white community pool and golf club. We still judge people by the color of their skin and not by the strength of their character. We still judge people by their socio-economic status and not on their own attributes. Racism and hatred still fester and bring pain and suffering. America is still not the great nation it could and should be. Dr. King’s words are every bit as applicable now as they were then.

I hope that Dr. King’s message will reach out and inspire a new generation to strive to achieve those dreams and to break free from the confines of maintaining the status quo. Our generation needs to pick up the banner so artfully and passionately carried by Dr. King and his contemporaries and finally be the change he envisioned. In the words of Dr. King, “Now is the time to make real the promises of Democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” It is my sincere hope that in another 44 years my grandchildren will read Dr. King’s speech and feel nothing but hope and inspiration. I want for them to have difficulty seeing any similarities between the America they know and the divided nation that Dr. King speaks of, because only then will Dr. King’s dream be a reality.