By Trikosko, Marion S. [Public domain
Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that changed the world — but in celebrating figureheads, we often overlook the people who make up the movement.
In this recently posted TED x teen talk, Natalie Warne expresses her longtime admiration for the civil rights leader, and why she yearned to meet the man who (seemingly single-handedly) transformed a generation.
Instead, she met someone who else who changed her perspective.
00:57: “I met a man named Dr. Vincent Harding. He worked with Dr. King from day one and even wrote some of his most iconic speeches. You see, this was a really important moment for me as a kid because it was the first time that I realized that it wasn’t just Dr. King who led this revolution. He was surrounded by a movement made up of anonymous extraordinaries.”
Anonymous extraordinaries are people who work selflessly and vigorously for what they believe in. People who are motivated by conviction, and not recognition. It took me a long time to realize the significance of this moment … “
Natalie, who is now barely in her 20s, set out to end a war that started five years before she was born. As an idealistic 18-year-old, she threw herself into an unpaid internship and spent 1,152 hours to make one prominent woman pay attention so that one prominent man might sign one bill into law.
As it turns out, she became something of a poster child for her efforts — but she insists her time in the spotlight is not what defines her. She’s guided by her belief in the importance of her cause: a pilot light that burns even on dark nights of the soul.
Natalie’s power as a lecturer comes from her naked conviction, her humility, and her ability to speak truth even if her voice shakes.
Young idealists like Natalie are constantly told to be more realistic — but thank goodness they don’t listen. Instead, she rejects reality and pushes for the dream.
