In honor of Dr. King's birthday.
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Jane Warner
Seattle, Washington
-----Original Message-----
From: T. Ross [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 9:18 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: THE DREAM AND THE DREAMER
Friends and Colleagues:
At this time, every year, I send out a story that I wrote 13 years ago.
This message is still apropos today.
--Terryl
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Terryl J. Ross
Doctoral Student, Educational Communication and Technology
College of Education, University of Washington
MOSAIC President | MAP President
[log in to unmask] | http://students.washington.edu/mosaicuw/
(206) 720-1279
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"NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS
CAN CHANGE THE WORLD; INDEED IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT EVER HAS."
-Margaret Mead
"Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and
forgotten. America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to
pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination,
history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will
lack the most indispensable element of greatness--justice."
Martin Luther King, Jr. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?,
1967.
It's 1968. Dad's in Nam, my twin, Terrence, and I are 8-year-old
Black boys living in Fort Lewis, Washington. Martin Luther King,
Jr. dies. I'm not old enough to understand why the news of his death
causes sadness to all around me, but I do remember Mom's tears. I'm not
old enough to understand the meaning of the Civil Rights Movement, but I
am old enough to remember the feeling of pride and unity that flowed among
my diverse community. I'm not old enough to understand the significance
of the dream, but I am old enough to understand the dreamer.
My brother, Lance, who is three years younger, is too young to
understand either. He does not remember the day Martin Luther King died,
and like all of the Black kids who will follow him, he will have to read
about it in books. He will not be taught the importance of the dream, he
will be taught the importance of the dreamer.
And oh what a dreamer he was. He carried the souls of despair on
his
shoulders and proudly marched his people to the footsteps of the mountain
of freedom. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. His face has forever been
etched in the pages of history books. His birthday has become a national
holiday. He became the dreamer we all learned about.
But what about his dream?
Have we been spending so much time focusing in on the dreamer that
we have ignored the dream? How many of us have read his words and know
his dream? How many of us know what he lived for and what he died for?
Did he not teach us to focus in on the future not the past? Did he not
show us the virtue of faith over doubt? Would he not want us to focus in
on the dream and not the dreamer?
If we focus in on the dreamer, he is dead and will never return.
But if we focus in on the dream, it is alive and yearns to be realized.
Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed that we would put all our faith in
God and combat injustice regardless of the outcome. He dreamed of a time
when America would fulfill its creed and people would be "judged by the
content of our characters and not by the color of our skin." He dreamed
of a nation which worshiped the spiritual God, not the corporate one. He
dreamed of those who have, freely sharing with those who have not. He
dreamed of a world that embraces the virtues of diversity.
It's 1990. Dad survived Nam only to succumb to a 12-year bout
with cancer he got from Agent Orange. Terrence would march to make the
holiday a reality only to die from that four-letter disease, one year
later. I'm a 30-year-old African-American man living in Tacoma,
Washington. I'm not old enough to know why our society has turned its
back on the dream, but I am old enough to understand the need to fight for
it. Santa and the Easter bunny have obscured the true meaning of Christmas
and Easter. I fear shopping malls and basketball tournaments will obscure
the meaning of this one.
He helped ease society's pain.
Do not let him die in vain.
It is time to join the team
That honors the dreamer by living his dream!
--Terryl Ross
"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the
mountain. And I've looked over and I've seen the promised land! I may
not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as people
will get to the promised land."
Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis the night before his assassination 3/68
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