Today marks the forty-eighth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's. famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The speech was delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1963. As Americans, we owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. King for the work he did to help our nation overcome the evils of segregation and racial injustice in the 1950's and 1960's. From Birmingham to Selma, Selma to Montgomery, the work of Martin Luther King Jr. lives on. It was Martin Luther King Jr. who challenged us to look beyond one's color so that we could focus on one's character. Dr. King knew the journey towards racial equality would not be an easy one. We hear evidence of this in the last speech that Dr. King ever gave. It came on the night of April 3rd, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. In that speech, Dr. King famously said, "we've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop, and I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will, and he's allowed me to go up 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 a people will get to the promised land." With the opening of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial this past week on the national mall in Washington D.C., our nation has finally paid tribute to one of it's most influential leaders. I can't think of someone more deserving of such an honor, an honor that is long overdue. Very few, if any, have changed the course of history the way that Martin Luther King Jr. has. While King spoke of longevity in life, he was never able to achieve it. The memorial honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will not only provide the longevity that King sought in life by immortalizing the work of the late civil rights icon, it will also cement his legacy as a drum major for justice.
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