50 years of Martin Luther King's Speech "I have a Dream"

Let us Salute Martin Luther King on this historic occasion!

We can pay tribute to Dr.Martin Luther King Jr and his “I have a Dream” speech every day by opposing discrimination against anyone in the world. Whenever we speak up against the oppression of anyone in any form, we honor his commitment to social justice. His Speech woke up the country’s consciousness and acted as a catalyst for change, including desegregation and the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Extolling the powerful example of Mohandas K. Gandhi, he spoke with remarkable consistency about the best means to achieve justice, freedom, reconciliation, and full human dignity, and he did so during an especially turbulent time, from the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boy­cott through the momentous passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. What should be remembered about Martin Luther King Jr. was his profound grasp on the social problems in the world around him and his commitment to use nonviolent tactics to bring about social change. He is a hero in every sense of the word as he committed his life improving the lives of all races and to creating true unity through racial reconciliation. Although many things have changed since the Civil Rights Movement, the remedies proposed by Dr. King – nonviolence, service and hope – remain as relevant as ever.

King’s words could not resonate truer today as the first black president sits in the Oval Office preparing for war against Syria, preparing to cause the deaths of untold numbers of innocents half a world away solely because of America’s perceived ‘strategic interests’ and in the name of ‘humanitarianism’. Despite being an internationally-renowned civil rights leader, a Nobel Prize winner, Dr.King took an unpopular position against the imperialist policies of the United States in Vietnam and, in doing so, separated himself from the so-called ‘moderates’ in his own camp who feared breaking with the Johnson administration that had, after all, signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And yet, that was secondary for King, who understood that the quest for justice was not a political quest, but a moral one. He eschewed politics in favor of justice and truth. As the political establishment in the United States marks this momentous anniversary, it is simultaneously planning to rain death and destruction on the people of Syria. With an ongoing unemployment crisis, a divided government and a society that is far from post-racial and post-caste, King's words take on contemporary meaning. More than merely examining what King said, it is incumbent upon all those who today are on the same quest for peace and justice that he was on, to come together to put into practice what Dr.King spoke.