My dad, born in the 1930’s, grew up during the most racially tense time in the South. He witnessed the injustice, but still had his own prejudices. In 1971, due to the physical locations that caused “natural segregation” of white & black neighborhood schools, the courts mandated that school districts in Texas must integrate schools regardless of location.
When my Daddy found out that his little girl was going to be bused across town “to go to school with a bunch of n*****s”, he initiated a “white flight” and quickly moved his family across the street to a white rural school.
I would not see a black person until I was in the seventh grade.
I never understood the prejudice I witnessed around me. I despise the N-word, even among African-Americans.
Today, we celebrate the short life of an incredible man that changed the course of history. His vision is still inspiring! His dream…
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
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!
Listen to his incredible speech in its entirety.
I live in the rural South, and it saddens me to still see prejudice around me.
My dream is that the “content of character” is the only thing that matters.
My dream is that judgments will not be made based on simply the color pigment of skin.
My dream is that my two little children will one day live in a nation where interracial families are the norm.
My dream is for our nation to become color-blind!
