Martin Luther King, Jr’s ‘Dream’ Come True
On the eve of Barack Obama's Inauguration we celebrate the life of a great man
Tomorrow President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America, arguably the most powerful office in the world, and today we pause to remember the life and work of a great man that came before our next President … a man who helped lay the groundwork to allow Barack Obama to become our next President. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and in honor of this great man, I hope that all y’all will (at the very least) pause for a few minutes today to watch (or read) MLK‘s very famous I Have A Dream speech:
For those of you who have the day off from work and want to do a bit more to honor the memory and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., you can click HERE to learn how YOU can participate in today’s Day of Service to help your fellow man, in spirit of MLK‘s lifelong work of brotherhood. I think this year’s MLK celebration has an extra special resonance because the United States of America is on the verge of inaugurating the first African American President … a notion that was but a mere dream not too long ago. I know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is looking down with pride at how far our country has come since that August day in 1963 when he spoke to the assembled people who marched on Washington DC for “the greatest demonstration for Freedom in the history of our nation”. The US is quite literally about to cross over into “the promised land” and while this may sound hyperbolic and melodramatic, it is the language that was used in the I Have A Dream speech and seems very fitting at this time in our nation’s history. Today will be a gloriously positive day … and tomorrow will be an absolutely monumental day. Thank you Dr. King, Jr., wherever you are! You helped get us to this point in history … and today, we honor you and your unending work.
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Today, we’d all like to be Americans.
Americans canbe proud of their president, we,french people, are ashamed of ours.
It’s a wonderful day!
You guys don’t understand. It’s not about black and white, it’s NOT. The more emphasis we put on color, either in a racist standpoint or in a Pro-Color standpoint (Pro-black, Pro-white, etc), the more stigma we are going to have about colors. How about Baraq Obama was elected because he was the best man for the job. Making a big deal about his color is only going to lead certain groups of people (of all colors) that he only got the presidency because of his color. The longer we make a fuss about color (a good fuss or a bad one) the longer racism is going to survive. You can’t get equality by treating people differently, it doesn’t matter if you are treating one group worse than another because of color or better than others because of color (is there really a difference). Inequality is still inequality, and in time all forms of inequality will cause deep seated bitterness. One group can not be “more equal” than others (Animal Farm anyone?). Let’s, as a society, stop playing the race card. I think that people should succeed based upon their talents and their hard work. Not based upon their color. Color shouldn’t even be a factor when choosing our country’s next leader, there are more important things about a potential leader than his (or her) color. Like I said, personally I do think that Baraq is the best man for the job, however do you want it in the history books in the future (because it will happen, maybe not now, but eventually) that he only got the job because of his color? It’s not fair to him at all. To say that he really wasn’t good enough, but he only gets it because he is black. Is that not racism as well?
We are so past ready for Hot Chocolate in the White House! The new day is long overdue…
xo
Rants, Thoughts & Merde
little known fact mlk was a republican, but im sure he would still be proud of obama…..
sweet baby Jesus tomorrow tomorrow so fucking happy soooooooo happy
Trey, beautifully put man.. Today is a day of reflection, and tomorrow is a day of rejoicing.. Great day today, even better tomorrow.. and heres to Americas deserved bliss
LOL @ hot chocolate in the white house. That’s a great way to put it.
The world is changing, and it’s a great thing. This is historic! But, everyone is praising Obama and he is not even in office yet. It’s kind of strange..
Richmond poet and civil rights figure LaVerne Byrd Smith reads a poem she wrote the day Martin Luther King Jr. died:
http://www.tinyurl.com/StyleLaverneSmith0209
Thank you for such a beautiful remembrance.
trent, thank you so much for taking the time to remember such a important figure in history. you have just outshined all the other bloggers on the internet by putting such a touching thing on your website. Kudos!
Thanks so much for posting this, Trent. This kind of thing is the reason why yours is the only celebrity blog I read. The gossip is fun, but this is what really matters.
@ A
I understand your viewpoint and agree with it. But you must also understand that tomorrow will be a bit about race, because of the history African Americans and blacks have in this country. Those African Americans who experienced Jim Crow, who have relatives who were lynched in the South, who remember what it felt like to be hated and not considered a citizen based upon their color will put emphasis upon Barack’s color, because after seeing all that there is no reason why they shouldn’t celebrate how far our country has come.
I don’t think the emphasis put upon Obama’s race will be detrimental to his legacy within history. On the contrary, his election to the highest position in America will be a shining light and a beacon for ALL races and ALL walks of life.
What is dangerous, is to assume racism is a thing of the past just because an African American was elected to the White House. What is dangerous is to pretend race is no longer an issue and speak about it no longer.
@Ella — you hit it right on the head, it is about race to an important extent but beyond the “firstness” of the occasion, I look forward to day when race will no longer be an issue. We are still a very long way off from that day, tho.
A — until all races are given equal rights (like a right to a decent public school education), you can’t just ignore race. The reason that people have unequal opportunities today is BECAUSE of their race. Ignoring that won’t make it go away…. As for hiring people based on their character, not skin color, I think that’s exactly went down with Obama. Sure, black people voted for him more, and southern whites are shown to have voted for him less. But across the board, we elected the best man for the job, regardless of color! And that is a great accomplishment worth celebrating!
PS — Props to you, Trent, for such a well-written piece on the importance of this day. Thank you. : )
This is just SO AWESOME! I’m so proud to be an American at this moment. Lincoln, MLK, now Barack Obama…it’s like it’s all coming together.