Martin Luther King, Jr. - The Dream Lives On…
Monday, January 21st, 2008
“…And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children - black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
Those were the closing words to Martin Luther King Jr’s passionate “I Have A Dream” speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington.
The march mounted further pressure on the government to seriously face the civil rights crisis at hand, ultimately culminating in the passing of the Voters Right Act in 1965.
Just three years after the passage of the Voters Right Act, on April 4th, 1968, the civil rights movement would lose its most influential and inspiring leader to a still unknown assassin’s bullet.
Today the whole nation pauses every 3rd Monday of each January to pay tribute to this man and reflect on the values he so passionately lived and spoke for: the dignity and equality of man and peaceful coexistence and nonviolent resistance.
Although we still have not quiet achieved King’s dream of a completely color-blind world, we’ve come a long way and there are indications all around us that every day brings us yet closer.
He lived what he preached with an authentic commitment paralleled by precious few in our nation’s short history.
Like MLK, we hold strongly to a code of ethics and regardless of the circumstances, there are certain things that are nonnegotiable: constantly learning from mistakes, staying focused, and innovating.
Like most things that are truly valuable and worthwhile, the list is short and attainable; scaling the summit however, is a lot easier said than done (thankfully, the journey truly is the reward).
What values do you advocate? What values is your company supposed to be committed to? Are you really committed to these values? Do you live what you preach?
