FEBRUARY IS NOT JUST ABOUT LOVE, IT'S ABOUT DREAMS.
We are all made of dreams. Dreams are the portholes to never ending possibilities. On man perhaps, had one of the greatest dreams of all mankind. His dream would be recorded in history books and be heard by millions of people nationwide as he delivered these famous words:
“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."
This public speech was given by Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was this speech that stopped people in their tracks. We were still a segregated nation with many hurdles to leap over. His dream for all to be treated equally would take years to unravel. Unfortunately the Reverend King would not live to see the days of his dream becoming reality .On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was shot in the head while standing out side the second floor of his motel room. He died just one day after delivering his speech: "I've Been to the Mountaintop“. Who was this civil rights activist who spoke on behalf of racial segregation and discrimination?
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. He was the son of a preacher, who no doubt was destined for greater things. After skipping a couple grades in high school, he attended college at the age of 15 and graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in sociology. He then went on to Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania where he received a degree in Bachelor of divinity in 1951. He also received a doctorate degree in 1955 from Boston University. After marrying Coretta Scott in 1953, just on year later at the age of 25 he was pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama. With influences like civil rights leader Howard Thurman, and Gandhi-The Reverend King was already on his way to becoming a well known civil rights activist.
Martin Luther King spent all of adult years trying to end racial prejudice in the United States. He rallied and protested, sometimes refusing to be bailed out of jail so he could make his point known. King organized and led marches for blacks' right for desegregate, voting, labor rights, and many other civil rights. Many of these protests were well guarded and often ended in violence. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that King was from a southern state where prejudice and the Klu Klux Clan were more active than the Northern States. But he never gave up trying. In 1964 after he delivered the “I Have A Dream” Speech-he was the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts in trying to end segregation and racial discrimination.
Today, Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as a human rights icon that had a major role in desegregation and civil rights of blacks across the nation. It wasn’t until 1983 that President Ronald Reagan signed the bill, recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. as a federal holiday. Three years later on January 29th, 1986- martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed for the first time. In 1992 George W. Bush declared that this holiday should be observed every third Monday each January. Since the beginning of the 21st century, all fifty states now join in every third Monday in January to honor the "King", Martin Luther King Jr.
Although one mans dream is still a process in the making, because he dared to share this dream-what once seemed impossible, has become a reality.