On August 28, 1963, a thirty-four year old minister standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC captured the hearts of the world as he shared his dream for freedom and equality in America. Included in his impassioned speech, more a sermon really, was a 36-word prayer for our beloved state: “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke those words, it was indeed sweltering – unusually humid in our nation’s capital and sweltering in the summer heat of Mississippi. I find it no coincidence that Dr. King used the word “sweltering”, defined as “oppressively hot” in his famous address. Conditions in the Magnolia State and in other states across the south had become hot with the oppression felt by so many black Americans during their growing struggle to be treated equal and for their country to live up to its long-standing commitment to the ideals of freedom and equality.
Jefferson had first penned the words in our Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1868, had solidified the promise: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” And the American Creed, passed by the US House of Representatives in 1918, expressed faith in a government “established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.”
During his historic address to the American people in 1963, Dr. King exposed the failure of America to live up to its promises – promises for which countless black Americans had “sacrificed their lives and fortunes”. From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, from the Spanish American War to World Wars I and II, these patriots had given their “last ounce of devotion”, and yet black veterans and the descendants of those who had served were still being denied justice and freedom.
In 1963, Dr. King also spoke hope – and I can only imagine the wave of hope that swept across many citizens in the Magnolia State on that humid summer day. For once, a national audience was listening – and the dream of a better America was implanted in the hearts of millions. Though in the years to follow, the heat of injustice would become even more sweltering
with violence engulfing communities all over our country, hope that America would finally live up to its promise of freedom kept hope alive – and in time change would come.
Things are far from perfect in Mississippi, and in America for that matter, but we have come a long way since that hot summer day in 1963. While there is still more work to be done, we as Americans should forever be grateful to a man who spoke truth and gave his life in the pursuit of freedom and justice. May the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. be celebrated not just today as we commemorate his birthday, but every day as we strive to live up to the challenge of “the dream” – for all to live in peace. Because Natchez, America, Deserves More.
Authors’ Note: Please be sure to join us as we celebrate in music the life of Dr. King. Sunday, January 18, 5 – 7 p.m., Beulah Baptist Church, 710 B Street, Natchez.
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