FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE DREAM:

Dr. King also offered the most important definition of democratic equality in modern America:
SPEECH: I Have a Dream (Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963)

I have a dream that my four 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.

This is the equality of which the Declaration speaks, that inherent in all men by virtue of their having been Created. Note that this sentence precludes judging someone on the basis of what they are (black, white, etc.) but suggests that it is appropriate to judge them on the basis of who they are become, how their character has developed, and that their characters will be unequal. In later life Dr. King himself diverged from this ideal, especially when he began to advocate egalitarianizing government programs, but back in '63 he still shared the dream of the Founders, a dream worth our realizing.

[originally posted: 1/20/03] Posted by Orrin Judd at January 15, 2007 12:35 AM