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Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2015 at 2:00 AM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2015 at 2:00 AM » RELATED CONTENT • Local Take: Should U.S. Senators have written directly to Iranian leaders?... • Are you prepared for the next great Cascadia quake? • What do you do with money saved from cheap gas? • What are you doing on Super Bowl Sunday? • What do you think of the state of the city? • Herb Rothschild Jr.: King's provocation • Have we recovered from the Great Recession? • What do you think of the proposed natural gas pipeline? • College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? » Social News Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is that rare example of a non-elected person who changed the course of history and put a moral issue — racism — at the center of the table through the exercise of his own wisdom and courage. In his most famous speech, the “I Have a Dream” speech, on Aug. 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Rev. King, in his signature technique of rolling and repeating engaging phrases, laced with Biblical imagery and shocking facts of modern life, described his dream: “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. 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. “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 ... I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of 'interposition' and 'nullification' — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." To be judged "by the content of your character rather than the color of your skin" — that was the heart of the speech, leading many to ponder, at Ashland’s MLK Celebration, 52 years later: “Has Dr. King’s dream been realized? How much farther is there to go? Will we get there?” Claudia Alick, an organizer of the MLK Celebration — Not yet. The civil rights movement didn’t end. Today’s celebration is about how far we have gotten. It helps us fill the tank to keep going. The theme is “Share the dream; live the reality.” Spread the word. He cared about social justice and equity and that is what’s become our community. Donna Benjamin — King says the same things over and over and I listen more deeply each year. I know that a lot of bad things still exist, so instead of dwelling on them, I look inside and see where I am potentially unkind or judgmental and where I might be causing destruction, instead of the constructive ways he lived and taught us. Al Chase — No, we’ve not gotten there, to the dream he showed us. There’s still a long way to go. I see us come together more and more on issues of housing, food and that whole Lakota idea of “o mitakuye oyasin,” which means “all my relations.” We’re all related, to each other and to everything. The blood that runs through me is in all of us, in reality. Lucien Cruz — The dream is us maintaining Dr. King’s purpose of his work. However, we are still working to make that dream be rooted and touch a larger percentage of people of all colors, races and nations. We heard those young people reading poems today protesting stereotypes on Asians, girls, Mexican-Americans. We’ve not yet attained his calling. For African-Americans, there’s still segregation in the workforce. We have to prove ourselves twice, once for our education and skill and once to rise above our skin color. Mary Liuzzo Lilleboe, Grants Pass, daughter of Viola Liuzzo, assassinated by Ku Klux Klansmen in the Selma-to-Montgomery March — When I look for road signs about how the world could be, I go back to Dr. King. He gave us the model. His dream should remain our dream forever. Referring to the murders in the South, King said “our poor sick white brothers.” When I feel hatred, I just remember that. He said “hate hurts the hater, not the hated.” That’s the light to our path. My life has been so blessed by what he showed us. Geneva Craig, chair of the Diversity Advisory Council of AARP Oregon and clinical program coordinator at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, native of Selma, Ala., and participant in King’s Selma-to-Montgomery March — Dr. King’s example not only helped me but so many others. They were a blueprint for others to follow. They beat us and put us in jail for trying to get that equality. This is a day of celebration, to be ecstatic because he contributed so much to making this a better nation and world. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 21, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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