My article in the most recent edition of the Cornish
Guardian focuses on an important anniversary. It was as follows:
August marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s
famous “I have a dream” speech. Delivered from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
DC America .
Dr King’s determination to oppose racial segregation and
discrimination across certain states in the southern part of the United
States of America – where many black people
were even denied the vote – was truly courageous.
His words still ring out with real power and clarity, such
as his statement that: “I have a dream that one day … the sons of former slaves
and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table
of brotherhood.”
And his desire that parts of the US
“sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression will be transformed into
an oasis of freedom and justice.”
As well as his hope that his “four children will one day
live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but
by the content of their character.”
The bravery of the men and women who stood up against such
injustices should be remembered. Many even risked their lives during these
troubled times and Dr King was himself felled by an assassin’s bullet in
Memphis, where he was to lead a demonstration of sanitation workers protesting
against low wages and poor working conditions.
Dr King and colleagues greatly changed attitudes in the US
and, as a consequence, throughout the wider world.
Barack Obama is the President of the United
States – something that many in America
in the 1960s would have considered impossible. But anyone who follows American news
knows that there are still significant problems across the country, and the battle
for a fairer, more inclusive and tolerant society continues.
But five decades on from the “I have a dream” speech, we
should celebrate how individuals and communities can make a real difference and
make the world a much better place.
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