Do you remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs “I Have a Dream” speech?
Yes I do. I had my speech students learn and recite a bit of it as part of their extemporaneous speech grade. It is beautiful and an essential piece of American history. 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 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
Yes I remember it clearly, especially this: “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.” Dr. King was a brilliant orator who delivered his message with the passion and fervor of justice. His words made an indelible mark on me, and on my generation of Americans.
