Fifty years ago, on August 28, 1963, a young preacher stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and proclaimed his dream in a speech that he entitled "A Cancelled Check,” to a segregated nation. The speech would later come to be known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. In his speech, which was delivered to the attendees of the 'March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom', the young preacher reminded us of the “fierce urgency of now.”
In his message to the nation, the preacher not only spoke eloquently of his dream, but he issued a warning, he said “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. …Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. …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."
In the wake of Stand Your Ground and Right to Work laws, the Supreme Court decisions on the Voting Rights Act and Affirmative Action, it is important to read the entire speech and apply the lessons to the world in which we live today. On this day, we should remember the preacher as a revolutionary, and remember the speech as more than a dream, it was a call to action.
Read more of Sommer Foster's blog on Plymouth-Canton Patch.
Has Dr. King’s “Dream” fully been realized?
If not, what more do we have to do to bring about the world he longed for?
Editor's Note: If you're interested in starting a blog on Patch, e-mail me, Liz.Kennedy@patch.com for more information.
Find out what's happening in Cummingwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
