Questions for your journal:

What lessons have you learned from Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech?

Have you named your dream? Have you dared to dream beyond your boundaries?

What does that look like for you?

Are you passive or proactive?

Are you willing to take a chance on your dreams even when others don’t believe in you?

Are you a reactor or a responder?

Are you stretching yourself or has the elasticity of your dreams lost its snap?

Have you dared to be different in spite of the demands from others that you stay the same? Do you recognize the sound of your own voice,, the strength of your own voice?

Does your dream include helping others?

Have you dared to dream beyond your boundaries?

 

As a member of the generation that was the first to benefit from the efforts of Dr. King and the movement, I often think back to those days where possibility was always a hope but never a certainty. I think about a community that was marginalized yet continued to insist that every member of the community push towards excellence in spite of the uncertainty.

My community has gained much ground since the Civil Rights Act was signed into being, but I have to wonder about the substance of our dreams today. When the pursuit of every right was a struggle, the dream was about freedom for all and equality in every thing (though the idea of equality in every thing will never be an absolute for everyone simply because of the way the world turns), what is the dream pursuit today? Well, if I take a hard look at the pop culture of our world today, then what I see is the pursuit of status, wealth and prestige. It is no longer about reaching back to “uplift” my sister or my brother; it is now about what I can do, what I can get for me, myself and I. Was that really Dr. King’s dream?

What is your dream, not just for you but for your sphere of influence?

Have you learned to dream beyond your boundaries?