On August 28 1963 over 200,000 people gathered around the Washington Lincoln Memorial. They came from everywhere across, not only America, but the global village as well. They came to hear words. Words that would express the aspirations of peoples everywhere: freedom and equality. Little did they know that they would get that and also bear witness to one of the most pivotal moments in the history of humanity. After a full day of speeches the crowd was tired form the hot August sun beating down relentlessly on them. But, no one dared leave. For Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had yet to speak.
Dr. King slowly approached the podium with speech in hand. He began as he always did, eloquently with a soothing voice. You see Dr. King spoke to us all, rich, poor, black white as simply human beings for him there was but one race: human. Even when off camera he never sunk into racial slurs. For him, like only a handful before, there was no colour of skin. He was too big for such pettiness. He transcended hate.
Like so often occurred Dr. King went off the prepared text. It was as if a storm of emotion was swelling up from his depths a storm that was being held at bay by the pages in front of him. Finally the storm broke. What came out of his mouth weren't simple clichés and platitudes, what emerged were the foundations of a testament greater than words. In that speech he gave first from his person, then from his soul and finally from his eternal spirit for at that moment he was one with G-d and it was if the Almighty was speaking through him directly to us.
Since then, there has never been a time when I hear video or tapes of Dr. King's speeches when I fail to get goose bumps for he has elevated me and perhaps all of us to go forth and achieve more than we ever thought capable of ourselves. But, he knew, he knew we were capable of that and so much more. Today we all Have A Dream and today in the honour and memory of Dr. King we work to make that dream a reality. Now and forever.
Dr. King slowly approached the podium with speech in hand. He began as he always did, eloquently with a soothing voice. You see Dr. King spoke to us all, rich, poor, black white as simply human beings for him there was but one race: human. Even when off camera he never sunk into racial slurs. For him, like only a handful before, there was no colour of skin. He was too big for such pettiness. He transcended hate.
Like so often occurred Dr. King went off the prepared text. It was as if a storm of emotion was swelling up from his depths a storm that was being held at bay by the pages in front of him. Finally the storm broke. What came out of his mouth weren't simple clichés and platitudes, what emerged were the foundations of a testament greater than words. In that speech he gave first from his person, then from his soul and finally from his eternal spirit for at that moment he was one with G-d and it was if the Almighty was speaking through him directly to us.
Since then, there has never been a time when I hear video or tapes of Dr. King's speeches when I fail to get goose bumps for he has elevated me and perhaps all of us to go forth and achieve more than we ever thought capable of ourselves. But, he knew, he knew we were capable of that and so much more. Today we all Have A Dream and today in the honour and memory of Dr. King we work to make that dream a reality. Now and forever.
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