Monday, January 21, 2013

but for DREAMS

Humor me, and circle back to the 1960s for a moment.  When black men and white men were separated by hatred and fear.  When there were separate restaurants, bus seats, even bathrooms.  We all know the stories, the violence, the grief, the deaths caused by mere man's pride.

This day strikes my soul.  But for the courage of many men and women to change society's heart toward race and one another, my DREAMS would not exist today.

Just last Saturday, a dutch, completely caucasian woman, celebrated knowing Matt, dating Matt, and finally marrying Matt, a black man.

Without so many lives given willingly to stand up for what is right, my life would not exist.  At least, not the way it does in freedom today.  Freedom to choose who I socialize with, who I love, who I marry.

So how do I repay the debt that I owe? How can I say thank you for making my life more than a dream?  Thank you for creating a world that would welcome my marriage with Matt, let us buy a house together, have a family someday?

The debt isn't repayable, but part of the answer must lie in courage.  Courage to stand up for what is right, to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, to put others ahead of me.  Courage to dream that we can make a difference, together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdTpU5WZHHM



"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."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/i-have-a-dream-speech-text_n_809993.html

1 comment:

  1. Came across this video this morning after I read your post :)

    http://www.upworthy.com/the-law-that-made-halle-berry-lenny-kravitz-and-barack-obama-possible

    ReplyDelete