I have a dream, that we can still dream
On the eve of the holiday for which we celebrate the courageous life of Dr. King I am as ever stirred and disturbed thinking of this man’s life in retrospect.
The questions I usually ask myself are:
What made this man able to lead such a fierce grass roots movement which has yet to be met let alone surpassed?
Are we as a country even capable of such dreams, idealism and leadership now?
Is life for African Americans significantly better than the in the days of Dr. King?/What has been the legacy of desegregation in this country?
The symbolic significance of Dr. Kings marches were not only a galvanizing force for policy change but a visible, nearly tangible signal of hope. The systemic racism visible across the country in failing schools, destitute ignored slums, over crowded prisons is hardly heartening for the progress of Dr. King’s dream.
My father, who worked for CORE, the Council of Racial Equality, in San Francisco during the heady times of Dr. King states:” yes there is change, widespread and significantly so. There is legal recourse for racism that previously went unchecked” I try to focus on this however, especially working in the social welfare system and brushing close and closer to the endemic powerlessness experienced by people of color from even before day one at kindergarten it is hard to remain hopeful. Our so-called ‘liberal’ city is among the most racially segregated cities in the country. This article ran in the SF gate this week, describing the gentrification of the Bay view neighborhood.Bayview, a neighborhood with all the hallmarks of a ‘ghetto’ bearing myriad environmental concerns, no grocery store, constant gun violence and lacking in sufficient medical care for children, schools and even a grocery store is finally being revitalized, and many worry it is not for the residents.
Some choice tidbits from this story” citywide, San Francisco’s black population decreases every year. Census estimates show the population dropped from 96,000 in 1970 - or 13 percent of San Francisco residents - to 51,000 - or just 7 percent - in 2006.”
“In 1996, the median single-family home in the neighborhood cost $129,000, according to the real estate information firm DataQuick. Today, even with the recent downturn in real estate, the median price is $570,000, an increase of 342 percent.”
There are amazing health statistics that come out this neighborhood, and when I say amazing I simply mean it is hard to fathom how this rich city can allow this to occur within its county lines, with in a first world country.
Growing up in the wake of hope, so I have come to think of all of us born following the grand disillustionment following the social movement of the 60s and 70s, I have worried we are in a post dream world. Post dreams, post irony, post utopic thinking. I have to wonder what would Dr. King see if he could show up here in 2008 and see the continued racism now playing out starkly in economics and criminal justice systems in the country? Would he still be able to dream? Despite the bemoaning this speech moves me each time a new.
“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 and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
