Dreamer

Today marked the 50th anniversary of ‘The March on Washington’. The original march drew about 250,000

people fighting equal rights (and jobs) for blacks in America. Today, about 1/10 that number showed up in the rain in the US capital to commemorate what is understood to be the turning point in the American civil rights movement. It was once again a very full day ending with a speech by President Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial.

Yesterday, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan put things in perspective when he made this statement to the Associated Press: “Tomorrow, just like 50 years ago, an African-American man will stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and speak about civil rights and justice. But afterward, he won't visit the White House. He'll go home to the White House.”

There has been some amazing progress made. That’s for sure.

The highlight 50 years ago today ended up being Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s  now famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. One of the amazing things about that which a lot of people don’t realize is that there were actually 21 speakers that day, along with a number of ‘entertainers’ including Mahalia Jackson, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul and Mary. King took the very last spot of the day because no one else wanted it. Think about that! It had been a long day and a hot day and people were tired. King was slotted to speak for 4 minutes. His speech was written for him by Clarence Jones, a speech writer and attorney.

King stayed with the text in front of him for the first several minutes. I watched the speech again today and you can tell when he leaves his notes. One source I consulted said that it was at the point where Mahalia Jackson yelled out, “Tell 'em about the dream, Martin!” Apparently he had spoken about ‘the dream’ a few months earlier, but there was no mention of it in the text that lay before him that day. But he shoved the notes aside and from that point on we have what has become one of the most famous oratories in American history.

There is a great deal that can be said about the words spoken that day by Martin Luther King. Most people seem to want to ignore the Scriptural references in his sermon and his references to God. He was after all a Baptist preacher. Different parts of his message seem to resonate with different people. For me, one of the lines that I have always appreciated since the first time I heard it was this one:

“I have a dream that my four 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.”

I guess the reason that statement catches my attention is his reference to character. Martin Luther King Jr. was a freedom fighter, but he would never align himself with the ludicrous notion being preached as ‘tolerance’ in our day. That’s for sure.