"I have a dream..."

[eFestivals]

Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream..." speech.

I did plan to start this topic with a quote of the speech, but I hadn't realised just how long the whole speech is. And so i'll keep it simple and link to a version on a US govt website that i'm trusting to be accurate.

http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf

Please spend a few minutes to read the full text, I really do think it's worthwhile to remind ourselves just how powerful the whole thing is, as well as re-realising just how specific some of it is to real-life everyday things which most of us (I guess) take for granted nowadays.

And to remember that this was JUST 50 years ago - the world of your fathers for the younger readers, or for me, the world I was born into.

We've come a long way. But without any doubt, we've still a long long way to travel. Racism is still engrained thru-out society.

Edited August 27, 2013 by eFestivals

[eFestivals]

PS: and if you think it was just those backward yanks, here's what was going on in the UK at the same time...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23795655

[The Nal]

Madness isn't it? Two 25 year old people living back to back. I'm going to Memphis next month. Will be checking out where he was shot. Now The National Civil Rights Museum.

Scariest place I've ever been is Charleston in South Carolina. The shackles are still visible in the market there. You have to drive through the black neighbourhood from the highway to get to the "nice" part of town.

Seeing real slave shackles really sends a chill down the spine.

[philipsteak]

There's a plaque marking the spot where he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when he made the speech.

Despite knowing that places don't absorb the power of the events that happened there, there's no real energy or vibe or whatever, every now and then you go to a place where momentous things happend and you feel something. Standing on that spot, looking over the Mall, I most definitely felt something

[sifi]

Bob Dylan played on the support bill.

[jump]

In all honesty that was the 1st time I actually read/heard the speech in full.

Edited August 28, 2013 by jump

[eFestivals]

In all honesty that was the 1st time I actually read/heard the speech in full.

and it's worth the effort, yeah...?

[thegremlin_1999]

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23853578

A rerecording of the speech.

[jump]

and it's worth the effort, yeah...?

Edited August 28, 2013 by jump

[gary1979666]

Madness isn't it? Two 25 year old people living back to back. I'm going to Memphis next month. Will be checking out where he was shot. Now The National Civil Rights Museum.

[russycarps]

I always preferred "The Winner Takes It All"