I never really thought more of Martin Luther King, Jr. than him being the Black activist who gave a famous speech with the words "I have a dream" in it. I watched his full "I Have a Dream" speech given on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. just recently and I began to think how his words can relate to the things I have been studying and researching. His speech, for me, meant equality not just among races, but for all. He represents such a powerful message and meaning to people who have struggled with their identity, with learning to accept who they are and not being concerned with other people's ideas and thoughts. Here are some excerpts from his speech that really spoke to me:
"But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land."
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"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."
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"Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."
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"It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges."
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"And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
These quotes remind me of what I have been studying; a peace among people, a voice for people who have been treated unjustly because of their skin colour and a comfort in knowing that you are not alone. I feel like this relates a lot to what K'Naan preaches in his songs; the true meaning of the 'African way', of what these people have gone through, how they are living through it today and the effects of their history. Like I have said before, I have become so obsessed with K'Naan so I obviously had to work him into this post somehow. Here's his website to check out.
"I Have a Dream"Martin Luther King, Jr.
August 28, 1963
*This website here has the full speech, along with a video of it as well.
