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

Jul

American Freedoms at Your Dinner Table

by Sheron Long on July 4, 2013

Fourth of July dinner table, a good place to discuss American freedoms and gain perspective

Eat a little, talk a little this Fourth of July
© Thinkstock/iStockphoto

Gain Perspective, Not Weight, on the Fourth of July

Today, the Fourth of July, OIC Moments sends insights to share when your dinner table conversation turns to American freedoms.

There’s sure to be dissent—One guest speaks; not everyone agrees. Could it be, as Lady Bird Johnson said, “The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom”?

Hoping you will gain perspective from the raucous sounds of freedom around your table, we offer three questions and some conversation starters. Try them out and see where the conversation goes.

1. What Does Freedom Feel Like?

Conversation starters:

The truth is I love being alive. And I love feeling free. So, if I can’t have those things, then I feel like a caged animal and I’d rather not be in a cage. I’d rather be dead. And it’s real simple. And I think it’s not that uncommon.

—Angelina Jolie (1975– ), actress and humanitarian

Woman dancing freely, illustrating the joy of American freedoms

Ah, the feeling of freedom!
© Thinkstock/iStockphoto

Freedom is control in your own life.

—Willie Nelson (1933– ), country music singer-songwriter

Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.

—Alan Dean Foster (1946– ), writer best known for works in science fiction and fantasy

You have freedom when you’re easy in your harness.

—Robert Frost (1874–1963), poet

Harness? That sounds like freedom might come with limitations and that leads us right to the next question.

2. Where Are the Limits of Freedom?

Conversation starters:

Many people don’t understand how disciplined you have to be to play jazz . . . . And that is really the idea of democracy—freedom within the Constitution or discipline. You don’t just get out there and do anything you want.

—Dave Brubeck (1920–2012), jazz pianist and composer

I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom.

— Michael Bloomberg (1942– ), businessman, philanthropist, and mayor of NYC for three terms beginning in 2002

One of the things that bothers me most is the growing belief in the country that security is more important than freedom. It ain’t.

—Lyn Nofziger (1924–2006), journalist and White House adviser to President Ronald Reagan

The magic of America is that we’re a free and open society with a mixed population. Part of our security is our freedom.

—Madeleine Albright (1937– ), diplomat and Secretary of State in the Clinton Administration

Different Americans pledge allegiance to the US flag in honor of the American freedoms celebrated on the Fourth of July

Many different people call America “Home.”
© Thinkstock/iStockphoto

3. What Does Freedom Cost? How Do We Pay it Forward?

John Quincy Adams, US President from 1825–1829 and son of the second President of the US John Adams, had this message for the generations that followed him: “Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”

The American generations that followed discovered that they, too, had to preserve freedom with continuing vigilance through wars abroad and social change at home.

Patriotic sign, helping people gain perspective on what it takes to preserve American freedoms

Each generation is called upon to boldly preserve American freedoms for the next generation.
© Thinkstock/iStockphoto

Consider the perspectives of these American voices as you think now about what you and your generation can do to keep freedom alive.

Conversation starters:

Freedom is a muscle . . . you have to exercise it.

—Roy Scheider (1932–2008), actor, choreographer, and film director

Freedom is not an ideal, it is not even a protection, if it means nothing more than freedom to stagnate, to live without dreams, to have no greater aim than a second car and another television set.

—Adlai E. Stevenson (1900–1965), politician, governor of Illinois, and Ambassador to the United Nations

Freedom isn’t free. It shouldn’t be a bragging point that ‘Oh, I don’t get involved in politics,’ as if that makes someone cleaner. No, that makes you derelict of duty in a republic. Liars and panderers in government would have a much harder time of it if so many people didn’t insist on their right to remain ignorant and blindly agreeable.

—Bill Maher (1956– ), comedian, TV host, and political commentator

So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.

—Molly Ivins (1944–2007), journalist, humorist, and political commentator

Your “Oh, I See” Moment?

Listen to the voices of freedom ringing around your dinner table. Did any one of them make you say, “Oh, I see” today? Leave a comment and let us know your insight.

Handprint with US flag motif, illustrating how each American leaves a mark on the American freedoms celebrated on the Fourth of July

What imprint will you leave on America’s freedoms?
© Thinkstock/iStockphoto

All quotes from Brainy Quote.

For a perspective on American freedoms through an immigrant’s eyes, see this interview with William Holston of the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas.

Sheron Long 2 Comments

Quotes of Note/USA

Jun

The Life-Changing Experience of Love

by Janine Boylan on June 27, 2013

wedding rings as a symbol of marriage equality

Picturing Marriage Equality

Through the ages, many wise words have been spoken of love and marriage.

Love is a promise;

love is a souvenir,

once given never forgotten,

never let it disappear.

—John Lennon

San Francisco wedding, showing the life-changing experience of marriage

There is no remedy for love but to love more.

—Henry David Thoreau

Steven and Charles, showing the life-changing event of marriage

To love someone is to see a miracle invisible to others.

—Francois Mauriac

Happy couple, showing the life-changing experience of marriage

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

—Lao Tzu

women displaying their rings, showing the life-changing experience of marriage

When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.

—Elizabeth Bowen

Michael and Terrence, showing the life-changing experience of marriage

Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.

—Voltaire

Virginia family, showing the life-changing experience of marriage

DOMA [The Defense of Marriage Act] instructs all federal officials, and indeed all persons with whom same-sex couples interact, including their own children, that their marriage is less worthy than the marriages of others. The federal statute is invalid, …the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

—-Justice Kennedy

Poster celebrating the life-changing experience of marriage

Poster created to mark the day the Supreme Court heard arguments in favor of,
and against, marriage equality.
© Joel MaHarry

Oh, I see the life-changing power of love and marriage!

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

Janine Boylan Comments

Quotes of Note/Stereotypes

World Views:

Topics

Category Archives: Loving Language

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

♥

American Freedoms at Your Dinner Table

Gain Perspective, Not Weight, on the Fourth of July

1. What Does Freedom Feel Like?

2. Where Are the Limits of Freedom?

3. What Does Freedom Cost? How Do We Pay it Forward?

Your “Oh, I See” Moment?

The Life-Changing Experience of Love

Picturing Marriage Equality