As a techie living in the color saturated 21 st century, I’ve
never been overly enamored with old black and white video clips.
In fact some scientists believe the popular notion that people
only dream in black and white, can be traced to the early days
of film and television. While I prefer to dream in color, I’m
not sure how much dreaming I was doing when Dr. Martin Luther
King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech from the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial just a few weeks after my birth, but I have
stood on the same steps where this famous speech was delivered
from and never dreamed that I would feel this connected to
American history.
History seems to have a way of sneaking up on me when I least
expect it, take the inauguration of Barack Obama for example.
When the news caster mentioned that President Obama would of
been about 2 years old when Dr. King was assassinated, and it
reminded me that we are essentially part of the same generation.
Later on in the inaugural coverage they flashed a black and
white graphic of Dr. King and the date he had given his famous
“I Have A Dream” speech. Suddenly those grainy old black and
white video’s of Dr. King addressing the masses of people
involved in the March on Washington took on a whole new level
of significance.
Think back to the first time you saw the old news reel footage
of the March on Washington, and heard those familiar words.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live
in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their
skin but by the content of their character.”
Try to think back to what are your earliest memories? Most
of us don’t recall much before the age of four years old, but
I am struck by the thought that people only slightly older than
myself could have vivid memories from childhood, of drinking
fountains that were for “whites only,” or who may have been
refused service at a restaurant.
Dr. King was a controversial figure in his late twenties and
early thirties when he became embroiled in the Civil Rights
Movement. The events surrounding his death still leave lingering
questions, but his legacy lives on as a champion who fought
against racism.
While the pundit’s continue todebate whether we are closer to
realizing Dr. King’s dream in America, and President Obama in
his historic inaugural address acknowledged that too many
Americans live self centered lives, but the real genesis of
Dr. King’s dream has been been forgotten. The dream wasn’t
rooted in social causes or activism, but the same foundational
truths that guided the men who signed the Declaration of
Independence and crafted our constitution.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights,”
If we are to truly realize the dream Dr. King envisioned then
we must also embrace the source of the ideals that inspired
the dream.
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