Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King presented a speech in Washington D.C. that galvanized a generation into action and ultimately moved African-Americans into the mainstream of society.
The “I have a dream speech” has entered the annals of history as one of the most brilliant speeches of all -time by a gifted orator. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the event that day.
As President Barack Obama said in his speech on Wednesday celebrating those words 50 years ago, the changes made through the Civil Rights movement have benefitted individuals of all races. This includes women.
No longer do African-Americans have to sit on the back of the bus or are excluded from jobs simply based upon color.
The President went on to encourage individuals of today to continue the fight against injustice.
He spoke of the disappearing middle class, income disparity and high unemployment as eroding that dream.
Change happened through city councils, state legislators, Congress and the presidency, ultimately resulting in an African-American president.
There is still a distance to go in achieving the dream that “All men are created equal” written in the Declaration of Independence.
We still have those tools for change.

Karen La Pierre