for veterans of the civil rights movement
the fog of tear gas ...
a black boy on the shoulders
of his grandfather
Chen-ou Liu
Today marks the sixtieth anniversary of a signal moment in American history: the “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr., to a quarter of a million civil-rights supporters at the Lincoln Memorial. King’s call for racial justice served as the climax of the March on Washington, and played a critical role in galvanizing public opinion before Congress voted on two titanic pieces of legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (The New Yorker NewsLetter, August 27: The Hours Before “I Have a Dream”)
steady disappearance
of grass on the National Mall
beneath the crowd's feet ...
front-row people with arms linked
start singing We Shall Overcome
Listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 17-minute speech (or read the speech in its entirety)
Below are relevant excerpts:
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only.
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream....
...Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
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.
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.
I have a dream that my four little 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.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together...
To conclude today's Special Feature post, I would like to share with you the following remarks:
We have made progress, over the last 60 years, since Dr. King led the March on Washington. Have we reached the mountaintop? Not by a long shot.
-- Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum, CTV News, August 26: Thousands converge on National Mall to mark the March on Washington's 60th anniversary
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the historic gathering. On this anniversary of that event, his oldest son, Martin Luther King III said, “I'm very concerned about the direction our country is going in, and it is because instead of moving forward, it feels as if we're moving backward.”
Added:
the march signs
bobbing up and down
in the crowd ...
Black Lives Matter!
No Justice--No Peace
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