“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’” said Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his speech that immortalized the rallying cry of the civil rights movement and further powered the wheels of progress.
Each year Ferris State University, and the rest of the country, takes time to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. He was a man who spoke not just for African-Americans, but also for men, women and children of all ethnicities, demanding equality and tolerance, justice and peace. He dreamed of a day when those pillars would support our country, steadfast.
That dream is still alive as we look to one another in our difficult trials and victories, regardless of the color of our skin. When those in Haiti cried out, all races, not just one group of people, lent a hand. When our posterity, our children and our children’s children go out on the playground at recess, it is, and will continue to be, with peers of every background and creed. And as fighting overseas and the need for protection on our streets continues, there is a diverse group of men and women who embody and typify that dream. Together we are strengthened and blessed by our differences.
On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and proclaimed that he had a dream. It’s a dream that we still speak of and continue to hope for and achieve, and we have made many steps towards its realization.
As Dr. King’s life came to a tragic end, his ideas, and the ideas of people like him, persevere and carry on strengthened in the hearts and minds of people like you and me, who share that dream.