Deferred Dreams

"What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore-- and then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags like a heavy load

Or does it just explode?"

Langston Hughes

The recent 40^th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King was a time of reflection for the African-American community and the nation as a whole. Many have speculated on what Dr. King’s thoughts would be on the state of race relations in today’s America. We wonder if he would think we have progressed. Have we made it to the Promised Land that Dr. King so eloquently spoke of the night before his death? Or, have we—like the Old Testament Israelites—wandered aimlessly for forty years?

It is easy to be dismayed when one looks at oft-repeated statistics of African-American incarceration and high school dropout rates. In addition, we still lag in net worth, adequate health care, and home-ownership.

However, we cannot deny that progress has been made in some areas. Today, many African-Americans live in ways unimaginable to their parents and grandparents. We reside in integrated neighborhoods, travel the world, lead corporations, and run for the highest office in the land.

Perhaps Dr. King would remind us of the Israelites whom did not reach the Promised Land because they did not believe it was theirs for the taking. In today’s world, we don’t have to sit in the back of the bus…however, many seem to want to sit in the back of the bus—especially when it comes to education. Too many of our young people today devalue academics although it remains the sure-fire way to opportunity—just as it did forty years ago.

We have to teach our children that there will always be those who will try to put them down because of the color of their skin; however, opportunity exists, and achievement is possible, for those willing to study and work hard.