Hegwood Law - August 2020

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 Navigating Our Relationships in a Polarizing Time 2 Are Your Thrift Store Donations Being Thrown Away? Have a College Student? Do Not Forget These Important Legal Forms! 3 How to Pay for College Without Loans Flourless Chocolate Cake 4 Dr. King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech Influence: 1960s vs. Today

DR. KING’S ‘I HAVE A DREAM’ SPEECH INFLUENCE: 1960S VS. TODAY

Dr. King’s Lasting Influence

Starting 57 years ago on Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech had a lasting impact not only on the hearts of millions of Americans, but also on American politics for decades to come. To properly immortalize the legendary speech, we would need many, many pages. But we can certainly reflect on a few of the main points that affected us back then and continue to affect us today.

“I have a dream” has become a key symbolic phrase to the civil rights movement that is still vivid in our society’s collective memory today. President Obama once wrote that his mother came home with “books on the civil rights movement, recordings of Mahalia Jackson, [and] the speeches of Dr. King.” Throughout his political career, we have seen echoes of Dr. King’s sentiments and imagery. We have also seen these echoes within the Black Lives Matter movement. With reports of vandalism and looting, there is controversy about the presence of bad actors within the Black Lives Matter movement and how peaceful it will be remembered — however, it would be fair to say that Dr. King’s concerns are as prevalent today as they were nearly 60 years ago. Today, many more protesters are preaching his peaceful ideals to help push the movement forward and find adequate political reform. In an ever-changing world that seems so polarized, I hope that we call work toward increasing our faith and tolerance, and practice forgiveness.

The Dream’s Immediate Influence

Rich with biblical allusions and “moral imagination,” as The New York Times described it, Dr. King's ability to speak reached beyond spreading a message. He focused on connecting with his audience. In fact, it was found later that the phrase “I have a dream” was never written in his highly detailed notes — it was an improvisation. In 1964, a year after his speech, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize. His speech played an important role in helping pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and offered powerful political momentum as he led the Selma to Montgomery march, which provided passage to the Voting Rights Act later that same year.

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