Aug

Marching on Washington and Toward the MLK Dream

by Sheron Long on August 29, 2013

Lincoln Memorial, site of the MLK dream speech and where people spoke up for civil rights during the March on Washington and others began to pay it forward.

When will Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream come true?
© Thinkstock

For All Those Who Spoke Up, Who Will Pay It Forward?

Friends help friends, sometimes in silence but more significantly by speaking up for their dreams.

1963: The March on Washington

Fifty years ago, a crowd of at least 250,000 people gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to raise their voices for jobs and freedom.

Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. About ten minutes into his address, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, called out:

Tell ’em about the dream, Martin.

And that was the point when King departed from his prepared speech and delivered the words we remember 50 years later:

Martin Luther King, Jr., giving the "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington. (Photo from the National Archives and Records Administration)

King giving his “I Have a Dream” speech, originally titled “Normalcy, Never Again”
(National Archives and Records Administration)

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

—from video (17:29)

Had Mahalia Jackson not called out to her friend, would the course of history be different? Who knows? But we do know, after her words, Dr. King spoke up about the dream.

This idea of speaking up as a way to thank someone else for speaking up is what’s known as paying it forward. The crowd paid King’s gift forward, too. Many went back to their homes, spoke up tirelessly for civil rights, and caused change.

Changed Lives

The impact of the experience on that sweltering August day in D.C. transformed people, black and white.

Martin Luther King, Jr., who inspired the crowd at the March on Washington to pay it forward.

Martin Luther King, Jr., greets the crowd from the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963.
(National Archives and Records Administration)

Joan Justiss Tynes was 16 then. She reflects:

. . . after that day I understood that there were two Americas and that each of us had to do something to change the laws of this land. . . . my experience at the March on Washington helped me to understand what freedom means and what we have to do to keep the doors of opportunity open.

Through the next 50 years, Tynes participated in more marches. She spoke up, talking to young black Americans about self-esteem and living the dream through education and community involvement.

Joannie Weisberger was 21 and, in her words, felt like “one tiny dot in a beautiful tapestry of humanity.” She did her part, through community advocacy and teaching in Central Harlem. She advocated for students for over 30 years, but says now:

Our work is far from done.

Two views of the National Mall in Washington D.C., the inset by Warren K. Leffler at the 1963 March on Washington and the composite by Jason E. Powell. On this site Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke up for civil rights and inspired people to pay it forward. (With appreciation to the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Collection for the historical photo)

Not enough change has come between the dates of these photos taken of the Mall in Washington D.C.
(Inset photo by Warren K. Leffler at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963,
and composite photo by Jason E. Powell on July 10, 2012)

Charles Dumas was a teenager, not yet eligible to vote. He remembers:

I felt called to do my part. The bombing of the Birmingham church a week later and the assassination of President Kennedy a few months after only intensified the tempest that was storming inside me. By late Spring of the following year, 1964, I was in Mississippi, one of the hundreds of civil rights workers, who had come to register people for the Freedom Democratic Party, many of us were jailed for their efforts, some were killed.

For the full text of these reflections and others, visit “I Was There.” For interviews by Michael Fletcher with the leaders and organizers of the 1963 March, visit The Smithsonian.

2013: The 50th Anniversary March on Washington

Many ordinary Americans as well as the leaders and organizers of the 1963 March attended the 50th Anniversary March yesterday and the bell-ringing ceremony by MLKDream50.

From the events, two questions ring loud:

How far have we come in 50 years?
How far do we still need to march to redeem the dream?

Conclusions will differ, but before you answer, take a minute to find your “Oh, I see” moments in this infographic from the Huffington Post.

If one of those moments inspires you to speak up—for justice in law enforcement and courtrooms, for opportunities in classrooms and workplaces, or for fairness and respect among people—you’ll be paying forward a gift from those who spoke up at the two Marches on Washington and the 50 years in between.

♥

The King Center offers a digital archive of over one million documents related to King’s life and is a repository for over 4,000 dreams submitted to the site. Add your own!

The Warren Leffler photograph resides in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Collection.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Sheron Long 1 Comment

Language & Culture/Making a Difference/USA

Aug

Back-to-School Transition: As Easy as ABC?

by Janine Boylan on August 26, 2013

Teens during the back-to-school transition

Rushing back to class
© Thinkstock

Parent + Student = Different Perspectives

Children and parents around the country are preparing for the grand upheaval known as back to school.

While children shudder as the careless summer evaporates, a collective parental sigh of relief greets the dawning of a regular school schedule.

Students preparing to go back to school will face:

the elation of finally seeing friends again
the misery of making sack lunches
the challenge of getting supplies organized
and the ultimate struggle: getting up early.

How do their perspectives on the above compare to their parents’?

Friends

One student declared, “What I love about school is that I get to see my friends and enjoy every day with them. I haven’t seen them all summer!”

Her parent’s perspective was a little different. “Seems like there was a lot of seeing friends this summer. Sure, it was online through Instagram, Vine, Twitter, and Facebook, but they were connected.”

Kids, who talk with friends over the summer, have an easier back-to-school transition. (Image © Janine Boylan)

The ever-present electronic device
© Janine Boylan

The facts: Teens are very connected. A 2013 Pew Research Center report notes:

95% of teens use the internet
81% of those online teens use some kind of social media (SM)
77% of online teens use Facebook; 24% of online teens use Twitter
the typical teen Facebook user has 300 friends
42% of teen SM users visit their sites multiple times per day

How will this translate to school?

Cal State Dominguez Hills professor Dr. Larry D. Rosen shares that those students who check their SM once every fifteen minutes, not surprisingly, will be negatively affected by the distraction.

But, he says, research shows that social media helps shy students to become more outgoing. And SM can provide tools to engage students in learning.

School Lunches

Another student laments, “I don’t like having to make my lunch every day. It’s boring to have the same thing over and over.”

Her parent shrugs, “How fun can a sandwich be?”

Confused sandwich, illustrating different perspectives of the back-to-school transition. (Image © Mark Northeast/Funky Lunch)

Confused
© Mark Northeast/Funky Lunch

Spider sandwich, illustrating different perspectives on the back-to-school transition. (Image © Mark Northeast/Funky Lunch)

Spider
© Mark Northeast/Funky Lunch

Inspiration: Mark Northeast found that his son Oscar was bored by his lunches, too. Northeast decided to do something about it, and the first Funky Lunch was born.

Of course, it helps that Northeast has the creative ability to look at a slice of ham, some bread, and a cucumber and see a comical cartoon.

He says the sandwiches take him 10–15 minutes to make. Might take the rest of us a bit longer.

Piano sandwich, illustrating different perspectives on the back-to-school transition. (Image © Mark Northeast/Funky Lunch)

Piano
© Mark Northeast/Funky Lunch

Getting Organized

A student admits, “Organization is not really my thing. That’s what’s so hard about school—getting my stuff together.”

The parental response: “You’ve got that right. By Thanksgiving, I’ll be afraid to look in your backpack.”

Stuffed backpack, an object of different perspectives during the back to school transition. (Image © Janine Boylan)

Back-to-school stuffing
© Janine Boylan

Some expert ideas: Psychology professor, Dr. Nancy Darling emphasizes that parents should focus on the process and logistics of homework rather than just the content. Parents should encourage students to:

organize school work in a single place, like an accordion folder, so assignments don’t get left in a locker.
use an assignment book. Students should write down work on the day it is assigned. If the task isn’t completed in one day, they should rewrite it in their assignment books on the next day and so on until it is done.
put a bright colored sticky note or paperclip on work that is due so they don’t forget to turn it in. No one gets credit for work left in a backpack.

Waking Up

“Summer is great because you don’t have to do anything, and you can get up any time you want,” a student shares. “But I’m still fine with getting up and going to school every morning. That doesn’t affect me that much.”

The parent’s perspective: “Last year, I had to go into his room five times every morning just to try to get him up. I guess it didn’t affect him. It affected me!”

Extreme solution: Look into building this bed. (Fast forward to about 47 seconds.)

If the video does not display, watch it here.

A Matter of Perspective

Parents and their children may have some different perspectives on going back to school, but—Oh, I see—the funniest thing about being a parent is that you were once the child.

Sure, parents are a little taller and perhaps a little more organized than their student-selves, but back-to-school time is exciting for everyone—it’s exciting to see friends, it’s exciting to be back on a regular schedule, and it’s exciting to learn new skills like organizing.

Here’s to another great school year!

See how another creative dad made some inspired school lunches.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Janine Boylan Comments

Secrets to Life

Aug

“Missed Connections” Offer Alluring Life Lessons

by Meredith Mullins on August 22, 2013

Four strangers on a train, ripe for missed connections and life lessons about seizing the moment

Missed Connection on the Red Line
© Digital Vision/Darrin Klimek

Carpe Diem: Seize the Moment . . . or Not

Our eyes met several times today on the A train. You have blond hair and were wearing a black jacket. When you got off at 5th, you looked at me through the window and smiled. Would love to see you again.

I never do this but . . . we saw each other on the Red Line today. You’re tall (like me) and have the bluest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. It was hard to stop sneaking a peek at you. You got off at Market Street. Figured it’d be worth a shot to post this.

You were at the Springsteen concert last night (Row S) sitting next to me. The girl you were with started out next to me, but then you switched seats (thank you). If you see this and would like to chat, reply back and we can go from there.

In this fast-paced world of devices, headphones, and anonymity, human interactions are sometimes elusive.

Woman looking a man with newspaper, a missed connection or a life lesson about carpe diem

Although we bury ourselves in our smartphones and work routines, most of us do have an innate desire for connection. And, if we’re single, we may be actively searching.

Dating sites and matchmaking services have solid audiences—with tales of success, frustration, and failure. But another path is gaining momentum.

Missed Connections

Missed Connections are the moments when spontaneous smiles, magnetic eye contact, or shared experiences trigger an attraction . . . but the players in the drama don’t complete the connection. Shyness. Intervening events. Bad timing. Whatever the cause, the story is left unfinished.

Clerk smiles at customer, a life lesson moment that could turn into a missed connection or carpe diem

Then, the lament—the what if’s and coulda/woulda/shoulda’s—and the freedom of imagination to create romantic dreams, the kind that fuel film scripts with happy endings.

Now, these lost moments can be “advertised” so that a next chapter becomes a possibility.

It all began when Craigslist launched its “Missed Connections” section where people could post their story and have a second chance at getting to know that mysterious stranger.

The idea has spread to newspapers, magazines, and online forums. It’s a booming business and also one of those sources of entertainment where hours (or days) can be lost before you know it.

Four strangers standing in a subway, ripe for missed connections or the life lesson of carpe diem

Psychology Today has even analyzed the patterns of missed connections. Californians seem to miss their connections at the gym. In the northeast and south, Walmarts, supermarkets, and public transit are rife with near misses.

And, oddly, in Indiana, missed connections happen mostly “at home.” (Turns out this isn’t a judgment on family life, but rather a tribute to the pizza delivery person, the appliance repairman, or the neighbor.)

Four seated train passengers, life lessons about missed connections or carpe diem

A Venue for Dreamers . . . and Writers

While the success rate of star-crossed strangers’ meeting again is low, Missed Connections forums have become a place of dreams and, as it turns out, also a springboard for budding fiction writers and poets.

Yes, emerging writers can still submit to the New Yorker, Ploughshares, and Paris Review, in the hope of getting attention. But they can also post on Missed Connections to test the waters.

The stories expand the boundaries of truth. Plot lines twist and turn, and characters come alive. Readers can get a taste of Harlequin romance and action thrillers for free.

We were sitting together waiting for the bus, but not really waiting (come to think of it). Actually, we just had decided to sit down somewhere and this bench was catching the mid-afternoon sunlight nicely. I looked at you and said “I don’t see myself ever breaking up with you.” You smiled.

—Quote from Redeye Chicago Missed Connections

We chatted briefly while I waited for the teller to fill my bag with money. You waved goodbye with a big smile while I ran out to a waiting car. I wanted to get your name but did not have the time. You . . . tall . . . great face . . . nice hands (I noticed when you raised them) . . . cute smile. Me, a little nervous, wearing a mask, toting a gun and a bag full of money. If you see this, and I hope you will, tell me what bank I was robbing (so I know it is you).
P.S. No FBI or local police.

—Quote from Craigslist Missed Connections

Your image is forever etched on my soul/It’s like I knew you before that moment/But it’s too late now/You got off at Lake/You looked back at me and smiled/like you felt it all too/but both of us too shy to make a move/Now you’re lost to me/The memory is all that remains.

—Quote from Redeye Chicago Missed Connections

Life Lessons

Missed Connections can be wistful or hopeful. The posts can wax poetic or be downright pornographic (an unfortunate recent trend). Underlying emotions can channel regret or offer the optimism of a second chance.

Aside from pure entertainment and good reading as new talent in the fiction genre emerges, Missed Connections do offer a life lesson.

Couple smiles at chance meeting in supermarket, a life lesson about carpe diem.

Oh, I see. It may be better to seize the moment and make the connection when the opportunity is within reach rather than leaving the next chapter to fate.

Carpe Diem. What have you got to lose?

For more immersion in Missed Connections, read the recently posted Craigslist short story—being touted as the ultimate missed connection and see Sophie Blackall’s unique illustrations of missed connections.

Quotes VIA Craigslist and Redeye Chicago.

Comment on this post below or share your story of a missed connection—fact or fiction. Inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins Comments

Life Lessons

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Monthly Archives: August 2013

Marching on Washington and Toward the MLK Dream

For All Those Who Spoke Up, Who Will Pay It Forward?

1963: The March on Washington

Changed Lives

2013: The 50th Anniversary March on Washington

♥

Back-to-School Transition: As Easy as ABC?

Parent + Student = Different Perspectives

Friends

School Lunches

Getting Organized

Waking Up

A Matter of Perspective

“Missed Connections” Offer Alluring Life Lessons

Carpe Diem: Seize the Moment . . . or Not

Missed Connections

A Venue for Dreamers . . . and Writers

Life Lessons