Dreams can come true!
President Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial
Today and tomorrow are the days that remind us how dreams can and do come true. Today is the official celebration of the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tomorrow is of course inauguration day for President Barack Obama.
As The New Yorker commented on January 12, 2009, “Slaves – men of West African origin branded with Christian monikers like Tom, Peter, Ben, Harry, and Daniel – helped build the White House. Three were on loan from its chief architect, James Hoban. Construction began in 1792, and slaves worked as sawyers, quarrymen, carpenters, stonemasons, brickmakers. Such was the fabric of the new republic: twelve American Presidents owned slaves, eight of them while in office.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thus, to dream that one day that Barack Hussein Obama might actually take the oath of office and live in the White House was a dream that seemed impossible to achieve.
But thanks to those who came before him, the stage was set for the impossible dream to come true. If Abraham Lincoln had not issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and Dr. King spoken of his and our dream in 1963 before the Lincoln Memorial, would there have been a President Obama?
Probably not.
But the dream did come true.
One of the important lessons for those of us engaged in ending homelessness, is the faith that Lincoln, King and Obama had in their dreams.
As Dr. King said ”Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Each of them did that long before their dreams were mentioned in public.
President Obama, as the first community organizer elected president, has taught us important lessons as we continue to organize to end homelessness. The power of a community that is organized and mobilized can make the impossible a reality.
As Dr. King said “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk their position, their prestige and even their life for the welfare of others.”
Let us therefore be bold enough in this time of challenge and controversy to risk our position and prestige for the welfare of our friends and neighbors who are homeless.
Let us have the faith to take the first step, even when we don’t see the whole staircase.
Let us, you and I, be bold enough to end homelessness.
For you and I know we must never be satisfied until no one is homeless in New Jersey.
