The MLK Speech I did not give.....

On the fourth day of April, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee, shots rang out, shots heard around the world, shots fatally wounding one of our greatest American heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King. Four years, seven months, and six days before that dark day in April, Dr. King stood at the Lincoln Memorial and spoke those famous words that we still hear and carry with us today. Words that will be spoken at elementary schools, words that will be written in newspapers, words that will be posted online, and words that will echo across college campuses “I have a 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 the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

How powerful those words were then; how powerful they still are today.

We stand now at the start of a new millennium, and more than forty years have passed since Dr. King gave us, gave our nation, a powerful dream. We have traveled far down the path to give all people in this great nation equal justice, equal opportunity, and an equal chance at the American dream.

Last week, a woman finally broke the glass ceiling in congress and became Speaker of the House. On January 28th, 2005, Dr. Condoleezze Rice was sworn in as the first Aafrican-American female Secretary of State and broke the glass ceiling in the White House. Before her, Colin Powell became the highest ranking African-American in the Executive Branch and was the highest ranking African-American in the military in the history of the United States. In 2008, Barak Obama may well find himself as the first African-American president of the United States.

But we celebrate these accomplishments NOT because of the color of their skin….NOT because they are women….but because they are Americans. We judge them by their deeds, by their actions, by their abilities, and by their accomplishments. We look beyond race, beyond gender, and celebrate them for the hope the bring in realizing Dr. King’s dream.

Although we have traveled far down this road, we still carry many burdens and we still have many miles to go. Today , as the stock market reaches recod highs, 35% of African-American children still live in poverty.ⁱ One in three black men between the ages of 20 and 29 is either in jail or prison.ⁱⁱ The wage gap between men and women is NOT shrinking, earning only 77% of what men earn.ⁱⁱⁱ As congress debates increasing the minimum wage, the gap between the rich and the poor has not only grown, it has ballooned.^iv

We should all be reminded that, as Dr King told us “their destiny is tied up with our destiny” and that “their freedom is inextricably linked to our freedom.” We should recognize that we have a long way to travel down the path Dr. King has set before us. We should embrace each other as people, as Virginains, as Americans. We should celebrate who we are, our diversity, our accomplishments, our hopes and our dreams. We should not let our religions, our faith, our gender, or the color of our skin divide us. We should stand tall, and live the dreams Dr. King set out for us.
Indeed, let freedom ring.

Let freedom ring from our all our fifty states.

Let freedom ring in Virginia.

Let freedom ring in Staunton.

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i http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/4Poverty.cfm
ii http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-01.htm
iii http://www.now.org/issues/economic/122006wagegap.html
iv http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0817-02.htm