Does He Still Dream

Terrone Cuthrell

Contributor

“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.’”

Above is a small, but powerful excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr’s, “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial a little over half a century ago. At this event, King was vocal about his expectations for this nation: equality, education, and most importantly happiness. At the time of his speech, statements like this were common, as racist acts had come to a gruesome high.

An act as simple as walking to a convenience store was a dangerous endeavor for African-Americans. Blacks weren’t allowed to use the same public restrooms as whites, and were even sent to the back of the public buses simply because of their skin color. In light of these occurrences, King believed it was necessary to instill in everyone his idea that one day human equality would be accepted everywhere in America.

King was one of the most dedicated leaders in this cause and unfortunately died because of it. As a beneficiary of King’s heartfelt speech and tireless efforts, I ask everyone: Did he die in vain? Are his wishes being fulfilled? Does his desired equality still exist today? Has that equality ever existed?

The people of America were given a great assignment the day of that speech and it was to do our part in making America a country that values equal opportunity, equal advancement, and the right to happiness.

It seems that we have come a long way from then, but I believe that we still have a lot of work to do. Daily, there are news articles and topics regarding racial prejudices, racial violence, and racial alienation. Was this the America that King hoped for 50 years ago?

This America is definitely one to be proud of. We now have people of different ethnicities holding job titles that they would have never imagined back then. There is an increasing number of minorities obtaining a higher education, and people are more open-minded and accepting compared to King’s time.

Minorities are growing, both quantitatively and psychologically speaking, and are capable of great things, which we have accomplished! The clear reason as to why minorities are scorned, assaulted, and downplayed has yet to be revealed. When someone commits an act as harsh as racism and they have no clear justification as to why such an act is necessary, they make the act unnecessary and in this case invalid.

Even worse, the turmoil minorities face isn’t always from between people of different ethnicities. Quite often minorities hurt each other within. “Black-on-Black” crimes continue to affect our nation. According to TheBlaze.com, there are 8,000 to 9,000 African-Americans killed year and 93% of them are killed by other African-Americans.

King did not die for an unworthy cause and it is evident that it struck a chord in a lot of people.

A lot of changes have been made to our nation, because of what he did. We are certainly more unified and powerful than ever before, but we still have a long journey ahead.

Some may say that Americans will never be happy with the state of our nation’s equality and that may be true, but the only reason we are so critical about that subject is because we know what our nation’s people are capable of.

We as a people should be able to trust each other alone in our homes. We should be able to trust that our children will be safe under the care of another. We should all be confident in applying for a certain job or title.

We are all people of distinction and we all have a story. We all have some certain “it factor” that we must put to use in to reach our full potential, the same potential that King believed we had long ago.

February, Black History Month, a month set-aside for the nation’s people to pay homage to the African-Americans that made a difference in our nation. This time should encourage us to work hard, to ensure that the values expressed by King will be upheld; equal opportunity, general acceptance, and finding the good in ourselves and the people around us. Obtaining these values will get us to where we need to be.

So, now only one question remains… Are you doing your part?

Photo courtesy of MCT.