Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Editor’s Note: It is heartening to see progress that leaders like Marcus Garvey could not even envision for the future, but a worthwhile exercise is to think about this 1963 address in juxtaposition with modern Affirmative Action policies. Might we indeed dare to dream that one day all our children be judged not by the color of their skin?
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
Nancy and I are very happy to send our warmest greetings and best wishes to all those who are celebrating Christmas. We join with Americans everywhere in recognizing the sense of renewed hope and comfort this joyous season brings to our nation and the world.
Everyone is aware of the day that lived in infamy on December 7, 1941, but what about December 29th, 1940? On that day in one of his famed Fireside Chats, FDR declared that the U.S. would be a great arsenal of democracy against the global Axis threat. It is noteworthy because of its realistic assessment of the threat posed by Germany and Japan, even as the United States avoided the war. An interesting exercise here is to substitute any Axis reference with the terms such as Taliban, Afghanistan, and global jihadism.

George W. Bush’s Address Eight Years Ago
By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI
By Dr. ROBERT OWENS
by Rev. Dr. TOMMY DAVIS
By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI