Vision Navigator

In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, I thought it timely to focus some attention to perhaps his most famous speech-namely, the “I Have a Dream” speech.

If you haven’t heard or read it in its entirely, you owe it to yourself to do so. Below is a link to the video on YouTube. The full text of the speech can be found here.

In addition to its historical significance, the speech is a truly remarkable example of vision casting and the power of words. What’s especially remarkable is that the 16 minute speech was scripted out by Dr. King to last only four minutes, a limitation placed upon him by organizers of the March on Washington event. But as the crowd heard and began to respond to his tightly woven, yet soaring poetic prose, Dr. King dropped the script and began to improvise.

The result was a 16 minute long fusion of preparation and passion. In it, Dr. King managed to not only illustrate the intolerable divisions and injustices of his present time, but also to cast an enduring vision of freedom, unity and justice for the future of all Americans.

I wonder what Dr. King would think if he were alive today? I wonder what his dream means in light of another historical event on the horizon-namely, the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States?

What are your thoughts? Which words in the speech have the most meaning for you? Are Dr. King’s words still applicable today?