I Have A Dream:: 45 YEARS LATER

Despite the hordes of publicity and hype surrounding the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, the magnitude of this campaign may not be completely realized. I admit that I neglected to reflect on this situation and wholeheartedly appreciate the groundbreaking campaign our country is spectating. Nevertheless, as I peered at the screen of my cell phone this morning, I realized the date read August 28, 2008; the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. On this day in 1963, over 200,000 civil rights supporters gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to experience what would become nothing less than one of the most defining moments of the American Civil Rights Movement.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. risked his life on a daily basis to fight for the rights of citizens all over the world. This remarkable phrase is constantly recited and in turn often loses its emphasis. To fully understand the immense load of pressure our Civil Rights Superhero was weighed down with, consider a life in his shoes:

You work hard all your life studying and attending school despite all the adversity piled sky high against you. You overcome the odds [drugs, racism, lack of opportunity, etc.] and obtain admission to one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the country. With seemingly insurmountable obstacles remaining in the path to your dreams, you struggle to turn up your intensity and strive to successfully matriculate through the rigorous courses of a college education. Finally, you obtain the highly sought after undergraduate degree and by the grace of God find the strength, determination, and utilize pure intelligence to achieve the greatest, most elite academic accolade, the doctorate degree.

You are now at a major checkpoint in your life when you are introduced to a person who will eventually become your lifelong friend, supporter, and the perfect candidate to join in the union of parenting four beautiful children. At the height of your journey with nearly everything you could ever want, you set out to fulfill your niche in the world despite the expected opposition the world will throw back at you.

As you fight with all your heart to right the wrongs of a society so corrupt with unjust politics and a philosophy based on racial segregation, you are greeted with a bombardment of hate. After everything you have worked so hard for, and after all the struggles you have endured to get to this point in your life, the world around you reveals its hideous face and resents your message with violent attacks, ignites bombs at your doorstep, harasses your wife with death threats in the midnight hour, and place your precious children in grave danger.

Would you maintain the fight and continue to place everything you worked for in jeopardy? Not to mention the lives of your beloved family. Or would you abandon the message of equal rights for individuals not yet born?

These are the types of situations and decisions Dr. King was faced with, and despite all the sacrifices (ultimately his life) he had to make, he continued to fight for the rights we take for granted.

In the midst of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, where the spotlight is focused on a 47 year-old black man, I can only imagine the amount of excitement and jubilee Dr. King would be feeling. When King Martin empowered the massive audience with his unfathomable dream of desegregation it appeared to be just that, merely a dream. Nevertheless, today I write this essay only hours previous to Barack Obama (a man who 45 years ago could not drink from the same water fountain as his white peers) taking the stage at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado to accept the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

For the first time in the eventful history of the United States of America, an African American individual has an outstanding possibility to sit at the head of the U.S. Government as THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE USA!!!
We are witnessing history in the making. Today tells a story that will be relived a thousand times over, generation after generation. Today sets the plot of a story we will tell our children and our children's children. There is no doubt in my mind Dr. King would be amazingly proud of the progress we as a black people have made.

However, now is not the time to get a least bit comfortable. As the reverend stated in his world renowned speech,

"This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy." -Dr. Martin Luther King

Although we have made tremendous strides, the Dream is far from complete. Racial injustice is very much alive. This is clearly evident and illustrated in the following chart from the article, "States and Black Incarceration in America" in Gibbsmagazine.com.

This chart reveals the devastating percentages of black individuals incarcerated throughout the United States. Although blacks comprise inferior percentages of the populations in many states, we dominate the population percentages of the prisons in these same states.

State, Black Pop, Black Prison Pop.

Georgia 29% 64%

Ohio 12% 52%

Iowa 2% 24%

Minnesota 3% 37%

Wisconsin 6% 48%

Illinois 15% 65%

Missouri 11% 45%

Arkansas 16% 52%

Louisiana 33% 76%

Mississippi 36% 75%

Alabama 26% 65%

Tennessee 16% 53%

Kentucky 7% 36%

Indiana 8% 42%

Michigan 14% 55%

South Carolina 30% 69%

North Carolina 22% 64%

Virginia 20% 68%

Pennsylvania 10% 56%

New York 15% 51%

Delaware 19% 63%

Connecticut 9% 47%

New Jersey 13% 64%

Rhode Island 4% 30%

Less than two years ago, the Jena 6 incident in Jena, Louisiana served as a more direct and explicit reminder of the ever present realization that racism still exists. We may never be able to change the hearts of the individuals who continue to uphold this lost cause; however, we must continue to strive for a better tomorrow and unite to fight for the rights and opportunities that Dr. Martin Luther King fought to death for not too long ago.

In King's final days previous to his assassination, he delivered his "I See the Promised Land" speech. It appeared as if he knew his time had come. Regardless if he knew it would be his last speech or not, he left us with a few inspirational words of encouragement that still spark fires in the hearts of people from all nations, ethnicities, backgrounds, social classes, and every corner of the Earth. In the closing words he stated,

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. 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. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Turtle 2.o