What I Like About This: The image on this faded old program reminds me of the courage of my parents' generation. After 100 years of "freedom" following the Civil War and the end of slavery, their generation rose up, inspired by the greatness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to demand an end to the "illusion of freedom," and sought to claim their their rightful share of the American Dream. This cover art from a 1966 rally attended by my parents is filled with symbolism now lost on a generation who don't really understand how horrible the plight of America's black sons and daughters really was. I am eternally thankful that I was born to parents so brave, that they, and a million others like them, risked everything to make a better world for their children, and for the children of those who were their oppressors...
In the words of Dr. King, we're not there yet, but we are so much so closer to the day when we can all say together, "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty! We are free at last."
May we all enjoy this day of rest and remembrance purchased with the blood of a great American patriot.
An interesting fact: MLK, Jr.'s famous, "I Have a Dream" speech was written for and first delivered at the rally in Detroit (above). Moreover, Dr. King had not intended to given it again at the March on Washington later that summer, but when Mahalia Jackson who had heard it in Detroit and who was on the dias in front the Lincoln Memorial with Dr. King realized his speech was not going to be "I Have a Dream," she shouted out (audible on recordings of that day), saying, "What about the dream, Martin!" And upon hearing that, Dr. King departed from his prepared notes and delivered what is now known as perhaps the greatest orations in American history, entirely from memory.
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