In 1963, during the March on Washington, Martin Luther King gave a speech that is not remembered as one of the great oratorical moments in U.S. history. In that speech, he said: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.
That was a wonderful dream. And a couple of years later, it seemed like America was on the way to seeing the dream fulfilled. In the mid to late 1960's, President Johnson pushed three civil rights bills through Congress and signed them into law. Then we saw voting rights bills passed with majorities of both parties. And in 2008, the nation elected its first Black leader -- President Barack Obama.
Obviously, much progress had been made, and many in the country assumed the progress would continue. But that assumption has proved to not be accurate. The progress toward equality scared a lot of racists and white supremacists, and sadly, they numbered in the millions. They had taken control of the Republican Party, and while too many voters stayed home on Election Day, they were able to elect one of their own to be president.
This emboldened them to come back out in the open. Violence against minorities became more common -- both in the police and in the public at large. This could have been fixed, but Republicans on both the state and national level, following the wishes of their orange demagogue, blocked efforts to protect rights and lives.
Then, after losing the 2020 election, the GOP racists began to pass laws to suppress the voting rights of many Americans -- especially people of color. Most of this occurred in red states, but it was protected by Republicans in the national government. Their dream is to reinstate their white supremacist leader (Donald Trump).
Progress is no longer being made towards assuring equality of all Americans. In fact, it seems like we are regressing. But regressing or just standing still, one thing is certain -- Dr. King's dream has not been realized in the United States, and there are many determined to keep that dream from being fully realized.
This should be unacceptable to all who believe in the American Dream, and Dr. King's dream. We must rededicate ourselves to achieving equality for all Americans in all areas of our society.
