Are you the dream?

"...America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.

45 years ago today, a really amazing man gave a momentous speech in front of hundreds of thousands of citizens unhappy with the way that things had been done. These people were tired of the hypocrisy that was being espoused by their leaders, their elders, and their neighbors. So they gathered in Washington, D.C. in droves for a completely non-violent demonstration that culminated in a speech that some might say changed the face of our nation.

While I'm sad that he can't be around to see his dreams come to fruition, I'm filled with an immense pride that so many boxes on Dr. King's dream check list can now be checked off.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Check!

"One day... little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." Check!

"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." Check. Check. And more check.

45 years later, freedom is ringing from the "prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire," the "mighty mountains of New York," the "heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania" and so forth and so on. To be able to live a life that is a testament to a vision that one remarkable man had in a not-so-distant past that my parents can remember continues to blow my mind. That the color of my skin was neither a hindrance nor a burden to me is a blessing. That I can walk down the street hand-in-hand with my super white boyfriend occasionally takes my breath away in the wake of the fact that my mother went to a segregated high school. That I can call my friends of all colors, shapes, sizes, socioeconomic backgrounds, faiths and creeds my sisters and brothers brings me an amazing joy.

But 45 years later, the work still isn't done. I'm fortunate to live in an environment that is accepting of all people. I know that it's not that way everywhere. Not everyone can marry their soulmate free from a world of intolerance and hatred. Not everyone can be friends with whomever they please. 35 years later, we still fight to keep things like Jena from happening. Hatred still oozes from groups like the Westboro Baptist Church into our everyday lives. But just when we take two steps back, we always take at least one step in the right direction.

So I implore you to not let the day go by without at least remembering where we, as a nation, came from and where we, as a nation, still have yet to go. And after you think on that for a little bit, strive to continue being the dream that Dr. King articulated all those years ago.

If you haven't heard/read that famous speech, or it's been awhile since you have, you can read a full transcription here.