Leadership and Legacy: Martin Luther King Jr’s Vision for America

It was a fine summer day in Washington DC. The Lincoln Memorial stood glistening in the August sun, as roughly 250,000 men, women, and children marched steadily towards it. This was no ordinary march; the remarkably nonviolent mass of American citizens had converged upon this spot in pursuit of equality, and they deserved nothing less. Nine leaders of the Black community inspired the marchers with their profound words, and their calls to action. When the tenth and final speaker made his way to the podium, he surveyed the crowd before him. They were tired, spent. Several had been treated for heat stroke. Some had traveled as long as twenty hours to get here. But he was undeterred; beneath the flushed faces and sweaty bodies, he could see a fire so fierce that not even the eventual assassination of their charismatic and inspirational leader could extinguish. Little did this man know that the words he was about to present would sit beside the Gettysburg address in his grandchildren’s history books. Little did he dream that he would one day be immortalized in American society in the form of a national holiday, and little did he care. Gazing once more at the people whom would one day soon merit equality, Martin Luther King Jr shared his dream; “Five score years ago…”

Celebrated on the third Monday of January, Martin Luther King Jr Day has a history almost as controversial as that of its namesake. Initially proposed to Congress in 1979, the bill was opposed on multiple grounds; whether the expense involved in providing yet another paid day off from work, unproven accusations that MLK Jr had supported Marxism, or even the simple departure from tradition – thus far, only officials who had held public office were celebrated with holidays –, the reasons cited were collectively sufficient to keep the bill from passing into law. Yet despite the valid – at least at face value – reasons for opposition, the movement to commemorate so monumental a leader only grew stronger. Slowly, a newer and deeper question began to take shape: had MLK Jr been a leader to his community alone? What was his relevance to the lives of Americans at large, if at all?

Leadership: The Ability to Dream

So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.

Throughout the ever-shifting cultural landscape of human history, leaders of all shapes, sizes, and ideologies have enchanted millions with grandiose hopes and utopian visions. Whether rooted in reality or falling short, the ability to dream has attracted humanity en masse to leaders spanning across continents or even generations. Perhaps our need to follow dreams is a mere escape from reality; or perhaps as humans we maintain an undying faith in a brighter future; whatever it may be, the human race has always flocked to those who share their dreams.

MLK Jr: America’s Dreamer

It’s not for nothing that a speech of a Black leader in 1963 America was “better covered by television and the press than any event here since President Kennedy’s inauguration” according to the New York Times. For his dream was not one of black dominance, but equality for all. He spoke not of armed revolution, but that “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood”. He envisioned a time when people “will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” The values which MLK Jr presented to the American people on that day were those we longed to adopt as our own. He dreamt a dream not only for Black America, but for each and every member of our great nation who pines for equality, justice, and brotherhood. His legacy today lives on not only in the form of the one day a year that officially commemorates him, but in the continuous societal climb towards the ultimate fulfillment of his vision:

           “And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”