We HAD a Dream: How we’ve turned MLK’s Dream to an American Nightmare

48 years ago the world renowned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial poised and prepared to deliver a speech that would be echoed through the annals of time.  In his normal and rhythmic tone of speaking, he began by looking at the history of “these United States”.

Behind Dr. King stood the great Mahalia Jackson.  In the middle of his delivery, history tells us that mother Jackson said “Tell them about the dream Martin”.  As if instantly reminded of a deep-seated message that was planted by God Himself, Dr. King began with those powerful words “I Have a Dream”.  The crowds erupted with excitement, edification, and enlightenment as they rode the rollercoaster of words Dr. King shared on that day.  I’m sure that many of them left that place, if wanting to leave at all, motivated to do and be all that they could in order to make a better nation.

Somewhere in history we fell off the bandwagon.  We still here the words, and for a moment they spur up something in us that motivates us.  But as fleeting as a winter in Florida, the emotions seem to never last long enough to cause any action.  In fact, we’ve moved so far from action to the point of inaction.  We’ve now turned the dream into a nightmare.

Dr. King had a dream that encouraged by the constitution; our nation would realize that we are created equal.  Yet, it still baffles the mind when 7 white males can brutally beat, run over with their truck and kill a older black man and our legal system sets them all free with the exception of 1. I say we’ve turned the dream into a nightmare.

Dr. King had a dream that one day we would all be able to sit down at the table of brotherhood.  Yet, every time congress puts its own interest over the survival of this nation, I say that we’ve turned the dream into a nightmare.

Dr. King had a dream that true freedom and justice would reign supreme. But when we punish the user of a “poor man’s” drug more than we do the user a “rich man’s drug, then we’ve turned the dream into a nightmare. 

Dr. King had a dream that one day people wouldn’t be judged by the “content of their skin, but by the content of their character”.  Yet, when we allow an unequivocal disrespect of a President based on the underlying notion of his skin color, then we’ve turned the dream into a nightmare.

Dr. King had a dream that through equality, all people would be able to become educated together.  As I walk through the buildings of my law school, I see the disparity in numbers between people that look like me, and those that are of a lighter skin tone.  Every time we spurn an educational opportunity because it’s too hard or challenging, we turn Dr. King’s dream into an American nightmare. 

The dream of Dr. King has become relegated to the centerpiece for an annual day off from work.  When it should be a never-ending flame that causes the eternal hearers to move into action that will bring honor to the dream.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to redeem the dream.  I’m ready to fight for equality, and to empower those that are honored with equality to make the most of it.  I’m ready to fight for the day when my son won’t need affirmative action to supplement his many qualifications for a job.  I’m ready to fight for a day when we understand it is our differences that make us powerful, and not our likenesses that make us special. 

We Had a dream, and I’m ready to make it a reality.  Are you?

Just me

Do it For Them!

They speak with voices rarely taken seriously.  They come into this world involuntarily.  They are subjected to whatever life is given them.  Some are seen on TV with malnutritioned bodies that leave even the toughest character with a sentimental thought.  Others a thrown into national prominence, prestige, and prowess before they can even read.  Yet at the end of the day, they all are still the same.  They are our children.

Without going into my political beliefs, I would say that it is a shame that we tend to balance budgets on the backs of our children’s education.  We cut this and that in order to secure more lining for our pockets.  We often use them in custody battles, and as pawns to secure as much money as we can during divorces.

Last night as I lay on my sick bed, playing with my son that had gotten me sick, I begin to think.  I’ve recently made the controversial decision to leave my 9-5 in order to attend law school full-time, and to focus on my ultimate dream of owning a successful business entity.  As I sat there looking at my son, I wondered if it would just be enough to work a 9-5 and to give him his basic needs.  I contemplated if my dream chasing was really worth streamlining my budget in order to make things happen.  I wondered if studying 8-12 hours a day, while attending class, and building a company was just taking on too much.  I asked myself, “is it all worth it?”

As I looked at my son, I had no other option but to say yes.  By pursuing my dreams, I’m also pursuing a better life.  I’m setting a standard for him that he must not just settle for the easiness of life.  Now I will not require him to follow in my footsteps and attend law school.  Nor will I say he has to be like his Mother and go for his PhD.  Yet I will require of him that he gives life his all.

At the end of the day, everything I do will in some way or another affect him.  He didn’t ask to come into this world, but as his father I need to do all I can to show him all he can do in this world.  We as parents have a responsibility to set a standard for our children.  We must show them that they are able to do anything they put their minds to.  It is time for us to stop settling for what is comfortable, and for us to move into “miracle territory”.  We have to be examples to our children of what it is like to be successful in whatever we put forth our hands to do.   Our children are looking at us to show them the way.  At the end of the day, if you can’t pursue your dreams for yourself at least do it for them.

Just me

Will America Ever Grow Up?

I'm normally deliberate in what I post, and rarely do I allow anger or frustration to prompt my writing.  Yet there's a pot of water that's boiling, and it is about to pour over and cause some serious harm.

I noticed that as soon as we voted in our new President, rarely did you hear opposition call him President Obama.  They simply relegated to just calling him Obama.  Now that's not a horrible thing, because I have called him and other presidents by their last name only.  Yet as time has progressed it has become evident that this is a link to total disrespect to him as Commander-in-Chief and the leader of the "Free World".

Things moved up a notch on the disrespect meter when Rep Joe Wilson disrespectfully yelled out a childish "YOU LIE" during a live Presidential address.  Of course he went on to apologize a few weeks later, and said his emotion got the best of him.  I was willing to be on the "let's get past it" team, but I wondered if he ever heard of professionalism.  I also begin to wonder if this was just a repeat of the America of old, where no matter what I accomplish as a black man, in some people's eyes, I will never deserve the respect.  Nevertheless I let that go.

Then there came this "tar baby" reference by the rep from Colorado.  Before I jumped to say anything I wanted to get the facts of the case.  I did, but they didn't matter because as a "Professional" there's a thing called sensitivity training.  This is where I learn that there are different cultures, ethnicity, etc that work with me, and when I say/do something I must be aware of how that can be taken.  For example, if I was to make a general comment about the word Faggot in my workplace I'm sure I would suffer some form of discipline due to the sexual preference of some of my co-workers.  If you don't believe me then ask Kobe Bryant, Tim Hardaway, and a few others how the misuse of a word cost them a lot.  But this rep can use the term "tar baby" in reference to the nations first Black President, and can simply apologize later.  Now I was willing to almost let this past.

Then this morning I wake up, enjoying my Toronto and American Bar Association experience, and I go to one of my favorite websites.  One of the headlines reads Fox News affiliate article "Obama's Hip Hop BBQ Didn't Create Jobs".  This was in reference to the President's 50th bday party.  A party where there were People like Tom Hanks, Rahm Emmanuel, and some other racial identities along with some African Americans.  Of course the coward that wrote the article didn't care to attach his name to the ignorance he wrote.  I'm all for criticizing the President when it is due, but where do we draw the line when it comes to the disrespect?

This has me pissed off this morning .  Yes I'm a supporter of this President, but that isn't my sole reason for anger.  I get angry because if people can freely say these racist and offensive things about the President of the United States, then what can a racist prick say or do to me or my 2-year old son?  It is time that we stop shielding these hatemongering fools, and call them out for the idiots and racists that they are.  There's a big difference between being critical of a person's policies, and being disrespectful because of his race.  Will America ever grow up?

Just me