Dear Four Winds 10,

I STILL HAVE A DREAM

Thank you for posting Dr. King\'s speech.  I think that it is the  first time that I have ever read it in its entirety. 

As an African-American in my  50\'s, I can say that I have seen great changes since Dr. King gave that speech.  So many barriers have been broken down.  I can now go to any hotel and restaurant that I could not go to as a little girl if I lived in the south. And while I am aware that voter manipulation still continues through today, I do not face the horrific experiences that my ancestors faced in their effort to vote and bring about change. 

I can live anywhere that I can afford to without even being given a second look.  When I moved into a predominately white suburb, I thought about the possibility that we may see a burning cross in our  yard one day, but it never happened.  My neighbors welcomed me most graciously.    

Yes, much has changed.  This is not to say however, that we have arrived as a nation, we still have a long ways to go, but we are so much further along than the days that my grandfather would describe to my mother how he remembers seeing lynchingâ?Ts and tar and feathering of black men in the south. 

I never met my grandfather, but he lives through my motherâ?Ts memories.  She said that he came from North Carolina as a descendent of slaves and was also part of the Cherokee Indian Nation.  Mom described how grandfather was called was called a medicine man because he could pick the right herbs and berries to cure most medical problems suffered by people in this little township.  Blacks could not see white doctors at that time, nor were they given medicine and/or supplies. 

Grandfather was also called a \"seer\" back in those days.  He could see into the future, and I can remember as a little girl, how our mother would tell us how among other things that he \"saw\", he saw a day coming that this country would have a black man for president.  Of course I remembered our mother (who has passed on) telling us that when Mr. Obama was elected president.  Sometimes I can\'t imagine how he must have felt about that revelation based on what he faced on a day to day basis in those days.  I know that I never thought that I\'d see it in my lifetime. 

And I know that unfortunately, Mr. Obama, has not represented the hopes, dreams and aspirations of Americans, both white and black and that it appears that he represents the same elite cabal that our former presidents represented, I am still encouraged.  Mr. Obama may not share in the historical legacy of his ancestors being slaves, but he has to still have an understanding and empathy that may allow him to one day break the shackles that he has been bound by.  I still have a dream that one day, Mr. Obama will come to claim his rightful place and become the man of change that he so eloquently espoused that he would represent in his campaign speeches. 

THAT IS MY NEW DREAM TODAY.  When we as a people, ( black and white) collectively envision change, it is enviable that it comes. I believe that this change is right on the horizon.  \"The Powers That Be\" know it too.  They are running scared because they know that their time is up.

Again, thank you Four Winds for bringing back the benevolent energy of Dr. King through this famous speech and for the work that you do in liberating all of us from the chains that have had us bound for far too long.  For as in the days of the civil rights struggle, it is only through the contrast of seeing what we don\'t want, that we envision and more importantly create what we do want.  Let\'s keep making that vision greater and greater until at last we have manifested into our reality.  

Lena Carr