That Dream Did Not Die
By tony leather, 11th Apr 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutNewsOff Beat
The immortal words of that iconic speech were among the most moving and powerful imaginable, forever to be foremost in the minds of black Americans the idea that they had the right to be treated as equals, all due to the powers of oratory of Baptist minister King.
That Dream Did Not Die
On Wednesday April 4th 1968, only four years after Dr. Martin Luther King had delivered his iconic I Have a Dream speech - in front of Washington Lincoln Memorial - to almost 300,000 civil rights protestors gathered there - this legendary figure was gunned down and killed.
The immortal words of that iconic speech were among the most moving and powerful imaginable, forever to be foremost in the minds of black Americans the idea that they had the right to be treated as equals, all due to the powers of oratory of Baptist minister King.
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee, at only 39 years of age, the victim of a cruel and wanton act that was deplored from one end of USA to the other. There was about this assault on King the same wanton senselessness that had destroyed the man he tried to follow, Mathatma Ghandi.
It is an awful truth that men of good will, noble purpose and pacific impulses are not immune immunity from violence, no matter how they personally conduct themselves. King’s death caused uproar, riots spreading through Memphis to the extent that 4,000 National Guard troops were sent in and a curfew imposed.
Dr King's ultimate sacrifice, in pursuit of his dream, will never be forgotten, but despite a black president in the White House today, everyday reality for black Americans is still nothing like the dream about which Dr King dreamed so forcefully.
His dream was deeply rooted in the most basic American ideal - all men are created equal, a truth that is self evident - King dreamt that one day descendants of both slaves and owners could share a table one day, in a country where people would be judged on ability instead of color.
His dream had it that equality was normal behaviour in society - that the highly valued freedom would apply to all, irrespective of color or creed - a vision so powerful it inspired a generation of Americans to force change on an unwilling white population, which has, to a large extent, become a fact of life in the USA, at least in theory
That immortal dream so eloquently described by Dr King undoubtedly lives on, but only time, and changing attitudes within US society can prove how real it will become in time. That he died at the height of his influence was a tragedy that truly changed the face of American society, but whether it ever really changed enough remains an open question.
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