It was 50 years ago today. A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin organized the day’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. To strike a blow for freedom and the ability of everyone to have a job that paid reasonable wages. A problem that still exists today- perhaps, even more so.
As you can see from the program, Mr. Randolph presented the opening remarks. The widow of Medgar Evers, the slain civil rights leader followed him, and then John Lewis, the esteemed Congressman (now)- then the chair of the SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).
And, what has happened in the ensuing 50 years? As my title declares, progress has been made- but we still have a long way to go. White people in America believe that great progress has been made. The Pew survey found that some 44% of the White Folks surveyed think that not much needs to be done to achieve racial equality- while 79% of Blacks feel more must be accomplished.
Many of you remember my post describing Dick Costolo (CEO of Twitter) at the University of Michigan graduation, where he explained to the graduates and visitors, “Not only can you not plan the impact you are going to have, you often won’t recognize it even while you are having it… The impact is what others frame for you and the world after it happens. The present is what you are focusing on right now.”
That is exactly what happened 50 years ago. No one knew or expected that the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr would steal the show. Giving us one of the most memorable speeches of the past 50 years- even as he went off-script.
Here are his words from the latter part of his speech (most of which are the off-script portion). I can hear Dr. King’s lilting voice ringing in my ears as I read them now…
…I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, 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.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today…
This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
May his dream- which is also our dream- come true NOW!
Nicely done, Roy. It was fun talking to you this morning. After we left, Tobias wanted to know how you “escaped” your house. You may have just inspired a runaway. Hopefully, he’ll get the chance to experience a profound moment in history like you.
I just burst out laughing! Tell Tobias that I had plenty of practice- and that my parents weren’t like you and Kent.
Great post Roy. This speech always makes me tear up but beyond sentimentality needs to be the opportunity for all to reach equal earnings and benefits. I do believe perspective is bound to be influence by one own’s skin color. Perhaps an average of stats is fair?
Carolina HeartStrings recently posted..NAAN AND HUMMUS PIZZA
The speech got to me the first time I heard it- and almost every time since.
I am not sure that it’s perspective that is affected by skin color. It may seem so- but, consider this…
As a woman in the automotive industry, consider the bias that existed a dozen years ago and before. That would make you more cognizant of the “little” slights and comments provided others who may have different religions, skin color, etc. But, when one is the majority color, the majority religion, and typically male (given their original majority position in the work place), those “little” things are glossed over – or perhaps even perpetrated by them, thinking “they don’t mean nothin'”. Ah, but they do!
Great post, Dr. Roy! It is sad that so many people seem to think that getting rid of their advantages and pushing for a more equal footing is “special rights.” We aren’t there yet, and we aren’t getting there fast enough, but it is up to each one of us to keep pushing and push back against those who try to co-opt Martin Luther King will disparaging his very work.
Steve Nicholas recently posted..The Rewards of Persistence
Oh, Steve, we all want special rights- the rights to earn an honest wage, the right to not be forced to work overtime, the right to safe working conditions…
Oh, wait- that used to be the norm…