Reverend Martin Luther King Jr and the Great Dream

		Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

He didn't intend to change history. In fact, his first career plan was to finish a graduate degree in divinity, and then return to his hometown to take over his father's church. It was a path that had been preordained by two generations of ministers, his father and grandfather.

It was a legacy that was both empowering and welcoming, embracing principles that he loved, and keeping him close to his family's roots.

When he was just twenty-six years old a request to lead a protest march became a journey to the heart of social justice; the call to lead a small gathering became a national civil rights movement of non-violent resistance.

In 1959 King traveled to India to study the philosophy of Mohandas Gandhi. He spent time at Gandhi's ashram, and returned to the U.S. with a fuller understanding of Gandhi's philosophy of radical change through non-violent resistance, which was to guide him in his monumental work in the US.

When we idealize him, it is easy to forget that, at the height of his power, he was one of the most hated figures in America. It is easy to forget that the conflicts within the civil rights movement, between advocates of non-violent resistance and advocates of violent confrontation, were so powerful that he was nearly derailed several times in his short career.

But it was in moments such as the march on Washington, in 1963, when he made the historic ‘I have a dream’ speech that King rose above it all. That August, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he expressed a vision of the future that had no second. Here a few excerpts of that landmark speech:

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

	'I have a dream today!'

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

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.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; ‘and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.’

"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

These truly powerful words can only be born from the life of someone who was pledged to carry out his mission against injustice. And these words still ring true for our world as it continues to be wracked by racism and hate in many guises.

In fact, such was the momentum that his power and charisma created that he won international acclaim and in 1964 King was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize. His work had lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both milestones in the acceptance of equal rights of African-Americans.

In 1968, King addressed a joyous crowd of supporters: "We've got some difficult days ahead. It really doesn't matter what happens now, because I've been to the mountaintop.... And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land." He was assassinated on a motel balcony the next morning.

He had been to the mountain top and was not afraid to die. Reflecting on the momentum of his life, he said that events had transformed him. Maybe so. But what is more important is that he transformed events, and through the power of his spirit, created a vision that has inspired and pressed people forward towards a better day and a vision ever since.

Ref: A Leader Becomes a Leader, by J. Kevin Sheehan