"Free at last, Free at last! Thank God Almighty, We Are Free At Last!"
These words were spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr, a very long time ago.
Or not so very long ago, depending on who you are, where you've been and where you're going.
MLK said these words August 1963. These words were the finale of his "I Have A Dream" speech, given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
I was not yet born.
That's how long ago it was.
My children, and those of their generation, were not born.
That's how long ago it was.
My Mother and Father lived in the DC area in 1963.
My Father was caught in the Civil Rights riots of 1964 in DC, luckily making it home, without injury.
That's how long ago it wasn't.
Only a generation ago this Man, this Martin Luther King Jr, this Dreamer, this Righter of Wrongs...
Only a generation removed from this time and place ago, the world dreamed with this man, of a better place, of a better life, of a better time...
And in only a single generation, that Dream has gone dormant, the carrying out of it has gone terribly wrong...
Gangs and those who feel 'entititled' because of their race, color or creed, have made living a better life harder for everyone...
To live the Dream, to make the World a Better Place, to be the People that MLK saw we could become...
I guess some of us are going to have to try harder...
And some of us need to start trying.
2 comments:
Amen to this.
And in response to your note on my blog, Tom won't always reply to me. Usually he just talks to me in person and is all, "Why e-mail, I see you right here."
Wonderful post.
There are signs that we've come so far, like when I look at a sea of faces in a classroom where everyone sits, learns, and plays together.
But there are too many signs they have so far to go.
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