60 Years – He Had a Dream – Greg Albrecht

“I HAVE A DREAM”

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.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Christ-centered man of faith who stood for non-violent resistance to the evils of war and racism. He believed in responding to hatred and racism with love.

Dr. King rejected answering violence with more violence and never believed that the answer to racism was more racism. He argued and pleaded for the way of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation.

August 28, 1963, Dr. King delivered one of the greatest speeches, if not the greatest speech, ever given on American soil. MLK Jr. spoke of his dream from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. During this month of August 2023—the 60th anniversary of “I Have a Dream”— let each of us personally reflect on his words and the state of racism in America, and realize that growing bitterness and divisiveness denies the dream, and that “ending” racism with even more racism leads to an ever-increasing nightmare of hatred and bloodshed.

I must say to my people… in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.  Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.  

Martin Luther King Jr. fought racism with every ounce of his being.  But 60 years after “I Have a Dream” it seems his dream has been tossed aside, as the blood-swollen god of racism continues to devour all in its path. We must turn our back on revenge, retribution and retaliation lest we find ourselves in another Civil War. 

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.  

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of starts.  Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.   

“ALL IN THE SAME BOAT NOW”

We may have come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.  

In the United States, many perceive racism exclusively as a black-versus-white issue, while ignoring the fact there are and have been many oppressed races in our nation today, not to mention the world.

The suffering of people groups across the bloodstained pages of history is an ugly and reprehensible sin of humanity against those who are different. No race, creed or color, no religion, no empire and no nation can claim to be innocent of the charges of taking advantage of minorities or the marginalized. We are ALL in the same boat!

Our experiences (and those of our ancestors) arriving here in these United States were vastly different. In most cases, our ancestors shared the common dream of looking for a better life. But of all arrivals, those who arrived in chains endured the most reprehensible nightmare and trauma.

The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows. 

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend. 

There is no question that our nation must do a better job of lionizing people like Nelson Mandela, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Thurgood Marshall, Bishop Tutu, Harriet Tubman, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks and John Lewis, to name but a few people of similar skin color. Let us also remember and honor other prophetic, righteous moral voices—brown and white—many who marched to the beat of MLK’s drum.

Racism is not an exclusive black-white issue—many over history have suffered. We must, as Christ-followers, admit past injustices of all people, races and cultures, and help lead the way for Christ-centered solutions. Christ-centered social justice is not one-sided nor is it reserved for only one geo-political historical era. Christ-centered justice redresses all injustice and all abuse—attends to all victims and all those who have been marginalized, belittled, dehumanized, hated and treated as if they were invisible.

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