During the historic March on Washington in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his powerful “I Have a Dream” speech, in which he outlined his dream of an America that lived up to its promise of liberty, embraced equal opportunity and judged people “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
As the 50th anniversary of the march takes place this week, the Recorder asked Indianapolis community leaders to share their dream for America. Here are their thoughts:
“My dream for African-Americans is that we will begin to honor and respect the immeasurable sacrifices made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others by responsibly taking full advantage of the tremendous gains these civil rights soldiers and martyrs have helped secure for us.
“For example, our leaders worked hard to get us access to a quality education – yet, many of our youth drop out of school. As Dr. King stated, ‘We have to be prepared to walk through the doors as they open.’”
— Dennis Bland, president, Center for Leadership Development
“My dream for America goes back to the reason why America ‘came to be’ in the first place. A place where people, thoughts, ideals and beliefs can coexist peacefully and respectfully. A place where ALL people, regardless of differences, can work, grow, prosper, raise a family and exist for generations to come. My dream for America is for it to truly become the ‘melting pot.’ Not where people assimilate so much that differences are not recognized, but where its citizens and residents live together in harmony and embrace each other’s culture, heritage and differences.”
—Kristin Mays-Corbitt, president, Mays Chemical Company
“Given the significance of the march 50 years ago, it causes one to pause and reflect just how far we have come. Individually, great strides have been made, yet ‘The Dream’ has not become a reality for many people of color facing disparities in economic freedom, education and healthcare. Despite our current condition, my dream for America is that we never lose our faith and hope for an even brighter tomorrow!”
—Steven Jones, vice president of human resources of IU Health’s academic health center and system services
“My dream for America is simple. Minority programs will no longer be needed because this nation has reached a point of true equality in business, housing, health care, education and the legal system. It will be a time when my son won’t be concerned about being a Black man in America and afraid that he will be profiled because of the color of his skin or for what he is wearing.”
—Carolyn Mosby, president and CEO, Indiana Minority Supplier Development Council
“Dr. King said to his friend, Harry Belafonte, while assessing his own work, ‘I fear that I may be integrating my people into a burning house.’
“Dr. King was a student of scripture. He saw clearly, that if you lay the template of scripture over America, that everything God ‘burned the house’ of Egypt, Babylon, Sodom and Gomorrah, etc. for, America was and is engaged in these practices today. This led Dr. King, and should lead us to the observation that it’s time for us to secure what Dr. King viewed as the finished product of ‘the dream’, a concept that matches the will of The Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad then, and The Hon. Min Louis Farrakhan now, he didn’t see a ‘promised job’ he saw the ‘Promised Land’ (of our own).
“We need, now more than ever, with the amount of Black on Black homicide and single Black mothers, the principles expressed by Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement for our interpersonal relationship with each other as Black people. Non-violence with each other would solve Black on Black homicide, not ‘little Black boys and little white girls.’
“We need grown Black men and grown Black women to hold hands as husband, wife, father and mother. It’s time for us to love each other, respect each other, forgive each other, support each other, invest with each other, and build with each other. And when this happens, we will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.’”
—Nuri Muhammad, Minister of Nation of Islam Mosque #74
“‘Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. —Martin Luther King Jr.’
“What is the ‘somehow,’ that Dr. King mentioned in his message? In my mind it’s each of us embracing and taking action to change something individually and collectively. I commit to continually asking myself what more can I do to make a difference in the life of someone in need, my neighborhood, community, city, state, this country. I want to do what is necessary to leave a legacy that honors those who set the pace for trailblazers such as Dr. King and inspire others to want to do their part to change our situation. So, as we live in our great cities we recognize the work of Dr. King is not over because we have more to overcome.”
—Debra Simmons Wilson, managing principal, Engaging Solutions LLP
