MLK's Dream Speech is 50 today

[Solon]

It is amazing to think of how different the United States (and indeed the world) is today from what it was in August, 1963.

I thought this was a nice approach to the speech, viewing it as an appeal to Conservativism, when the speech's more left-leaning ramifications have so often been examined.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2013/08/martin-luther-kings-dream-speech


The moral power of King's speech is unimpeachable. Its historical role is similarly unquestionable. His revolutionary words delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial would leave America changed. But what is striking is something that is largely lost to modern rhetoric: King's constant evocation of ancient laws and age-old values. With radical intent, King appealed to America with a deeply conservative speech.

I know that problems remain in this country, but I still look forward to the next 50 years.

[OrangeUte]

That is a great article Solon. Thanks for posting.

Every year my kids have had teachers show the speech in class. I'm glad that they have. Some moments just seem to transcend time and become always important. This speech and its impact is as powerful 50 years later as it was then.

I listen to civil rights leaders and president Obama speak about poverty, economic opportunities and violence in the inner cities, and it is a reminder that we still have work to do.

[LA Ute]

It is a masterpiece.

This is a great PBS summary of what happened that day and how it came to be:

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365069476/



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[LA Ute]

I didn't see any of yesterday's commemorative festivities but reading about it today, I'm sorry it seems to have become a pretty partisan affair.


Regarding yesterday's festivities making the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech . . .

We could dwell on the fact that Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, currently the only African-American in the Senate, wasn't invited. Nor was the only African-American on the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas.

We could dwell on President Bill Clinton bringing up Obamacare and assault weapons. Or President Carter bringing up "stand your ground" laws, echoing a convenient narrative about a law not actually invoked in the George Zimmerman trial. Or President Obama lamenting a lack of economic opportunity, more than four years after he and his party passed a stimulus promising precisely that. Or Chris Matthews insisting, yet again, that all Obama critics are motivated by racial hatred....

But instead, examine this chart from Gallup, asking people how they think relationships between blacks and whites are:

Ultimately, we're pretty positive. The percent saying "bad" never gets above 36 among whites and 39 among blacks, and is in the 30s most of the time. Overwhelmingly, the most common response, among all groups, is "pretty good" -- between 47 and 61 percent. And this covers pre-9/11, Katrina, Obama's election, and today.

The constant sniping of "You're racist!" and "No, YOU'RE racist!" you see on your Twitter feed, Facebook comments section, blog comments section, and so on isn't reflective of how most Americans feel about each other. Every day, we get up, we walk out the door and go to our jobs -- well, those of us with jobs in this economy -- and we go about our business and interact with each other and, most of the time, almost everybody gets along.

This is the moment you can call me a ludicrously naïve optimist, but if you look around the world, you don't find that many examples of diverse, multicultural communities living in relative harmony.

Second, let me turn your attention to this letter to the editor in the Washington Post:


On Saturday, I decided to get a bite of lunch at a local restaurant and happened on this scene: A dozen or so preschoolers, black and white, were seated around a table wearing party hats, while their parents and siblings mingled through the restaurant for a birthday party. How likely would you have been to see that 50 years ago?

I would have been much rarer than it is today, if found at all.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s children reached adulthood in a world that was closer to King's dream than the reality of his younger years, and his grandchildren live in a world even closer to that dream. His great-grandchildren will live in an even better one.

Our kids will get this right, or closer to the ideal, than we have so far. (About 7 percent of babies born in 2009 were classified as biracial on their Census forms.)



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[Scorcho]

I read that MLK stayed up until 3 a.m. the night before writing a speech for the following day. He ditched his original speech at the last minute and decide to deliver his memorized "I have a Dream" instead. It's not so much the words of that speech, but MLK's delivery and rhythm that make it so powerful.

Gives me chills everytime I hear it.

[OrangeUte]

I read that MLK stayed up until 3 a.m. the night before writing a speech for the following day. He ditched his original speech at the last minute and decide to deliver his memorized "I have a Dream" instead. It's not so much the words of that speech, but MLK's delivery and rhythm that make it so powerful.

Gives me chills everytime I hear it.

Me too.

This is lame but I remember a Cosby show episode that features the speech and Cliff and Claire Huxtable remembering the day of the actual speech. I want to find that and show it to my kids.