#i have a dream
Fellow Rhode Islanders,
This year, “I Have a Dream” turns 50 years old. It is simply one of the best speeches of the 20th century – if not of all time. Throughout the years, I often think about the prophetic words Dr. King delivered with such unwavering fortitude and conviction to a crowd of more than 250,000 who were drawn to the National Mall to hear him speak on August 28, 1963. I consider Dr. King one of my heroes. He is a visionary with the spirit and soul of a prophet; he forcefully and openly advocated for what we all hold so dear – freedom, dignity, equality, a decent wage and ending poverty. Dr. King understood the “power of the pulpit” speaking out about injustice. He effectively accomplished this in his writings, especially his call to action in the moving and gut-wrenching 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Dr. King was a brilliant orator who touched our hearts with his insight into giant and important themes particularly in the “The World House” chapter of his 1967 book “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” He writes: “The large house in which we live demands that we transform this world-wide neighborhood into a world-wide brotherhood. Together we must learn to live as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools.”
As we honor the timeless words of freedom and justice put forth so eloquently by this American legend, I am reminded of how “I Have a Dream” has resonated with me throughout the years. Dr. King in the speech notes: “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.” It is that legacy of ensuring “the vaults of opportunity do not go empty,” which has guided me in my work to improve Rhode Island. This past summer on August 1 we became the tenth state to enact marriage equality. In May, I signed an Executive Order to promote diversity, equal opportunity, and minority business enterprises in our state. In addition, I fully supported and approved allowing undocumented students who immigrate to Rhode Island to pay in-state tuition rates at our public university and colleges. I have been steadfast in my commitment to make sure that all of our state’s students receive a quality education – especially in our urban cores.
As you may remember, less than 24 hours after my swearing-in as Governor, I fulfilled my campaign promise and repealed E-Verify. The executive order allowed us to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with our immigrant communities, law enforcement agencies, and all interested parties. In October, affordable health-care choices will be made available for all Rhode Island individuals and families and small businesses through our health exchange, HealthSource RI, which is shaping up to be a model for the rest of the country.
All of these initiatives send a message well beyond our borders that Rhode Island is a great place to live and work. As you know, our state was founded on the principles of diversity and tolerance – which is what Dr. King fought for and was the core of his “I Have a Dream” speech. In his words: “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off… .” It is the “fierce urgency of now” that keeps me working hard and guides me in my efforts to move Rhode Island forward.
Sincerely,
Lincoln D. Chafee
Governor
In his iconic speech at the Lincoln Memorial for the 1963 march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King urged America to “make real the promises of democracy.”
“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
-Martin Luther King Jr., I Have A Dream…
Audio fanfics
You know what I realize we need? Audio fanfics…. like audio books but for fanfiction. Because as I’m sitting here at work and we’re only allowed to use our phones for music or other types of listening, I find myself distracted because I really really want to continue a fanfic. So yeah I vote that we of the InuYasha Fanfic Reading Community make this happen some how!… that is all
Washington DC, USA | August 28, 1963
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. waves to participants in the Civil Rights Movement’s March on Washington from the Lincoln Memorial. It was from this spot that he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
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I often find it upsetting when people post pictures of trivial matters that do nothing to comment on the state of racial relations in America with the caption “mlk died for this.” MLK didn’t die for you to get coffee with your black friend or listen to Kanye and talk about how hood you are. MLK didn’t die for anything, he wished to live. He wanted to continue his fight, he wanted to see the day when his tree bore fruits. He didn’t chose to die a martyr to further his cause. He was not guaranteed martyrdom. He died because of the very thing he was trying to fight: hatred and racism. He died because a white man hated him.
Well-said. MLK would’ve preferred to live to see his legacy, and to provide for his children and grandchildren - not to become a martyr.
Fox News, owned by multi-billionaire Murdoch family, insists they have better perspective on MLK than black people do
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NEWSFLASH for Keke Palmer and Pharrell Williams and any other #newBlack celeb desperate to appease their White fan base: you do NOT get to invoke Martin Luther King Jr or “people are people“ or humanism when you cannot even manage to utter simple words like “police brutality” or “racial profiling” or “structural racism” or even the word racism…and that is telling: they will speak vaguely or broadly on contemporary racial issues, but their solution is to ignore the root problem and berate anyone else who won’t join them in sticking their heads in the sand
And ProTip: Dr. King’s dream came true? I bet his dream wasn’t for anyone to patronizingly talk down to Black people who are mourning and/or justifiably protesting a torrent of racially motivated executions of UNARMED Black people like Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride, Jonathan Ferrall, Eric Garner, Michael Brown , etc etc etc. MLKjr’s dream was for not only racial justice, but also economic justice and fairness in the criminal justice system, and so much more…does anyone seriously believe we’ve attained that?
Any Black celeb with high visibility and a national platform, who’s solution to racial profiling is “we all bleed red” is failing down on the job and failing Michael Brown and shouldn’t even be allowed to say his name, let alone Martin Luther King’s
I dare anyone to tell me how a “Kumbaya, be happy, we’re all just human, positive attitude” would have saved the lives of Trayvon Martin, Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride, or Michael Brown—especially when they were racially profiled and confronted by ARMED white men simply for being Black
Here’s a final quote that seems highly apropos:
“There are Negroes who will never fight for freedom. There are Negroes who will seek profit for themselves alone from the struggle. There are even some Negroes who will cooperate with their oppressors. These facts should distress no one. Every minority and every people has its share of opportunists, profiteers, free-loaders and escapists.”Keke needs to be more informed
KeKe been playin’ herself for too long. Ma'am, don’t let progressive/liberal propaganda erase our people’s history in this nation. Stay radical and take revolutionary action, folks.
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The Most Searched: A Celebration of Black History Makers ✊✊✊
What a beautiful way to usher in Black History Month!
