i, too, have a dream.

today is monday, january 19, 2009. today is recognized as martin luther king, jr. day. today is also the eve of the inauguration of the 44th president of the united states of america, mr. barack obama. yesterday there was a concert at the lincoln memorial in celebration of the president-elect. at that same memorial, martin luther king, jr. delivered one of the most famous speeches in american history in order to bring further recognition to the civil rights movement. on the days leading up to yesterday's concert, mr. obama journeyed across the heartland of america on a train just as abraham lincoln had before his own inauguration as president. i find myself feeling full of emotion as i sit here thinking about the symbolism involved in all of these events. i have to wonder if martin luther king, jr. ever imagined that tomorrow's inauguration would ever, could ever, take place.

on august 28, 1963, standing on the steps of the lincoln memorial, dr. martin luther king, jr. said:

"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition."

it cannot be said today that african americans are now free from the chains of discrimination, but the fact that yesterday, forty years, four months and twenty-one days later, barack obama sat on the steps of the lincoln memorial (albeit surrounded by bullet proof glass) listening to bruce springsteen urging the american public to "come on up for the rising" speaks volumes about what our society is capable of. we are capable of judging people based on their own merit, rather than the color of their skin. we are capable of coming together to celebrate our similarities, rather than falling apart because of our differences. we are capable of putting aside our individual interests for the greater good, rather than dwelling in greed. we are capable of so much more than what we have demonstrated as a people over time, and i have hope that some day we will attain that.

during the presidential campaign, i suppose i realized the true significance of the impending election. whether it is because of the career i have chosen, or the community i work in, or my age, or a variety of other factors, i suppose i understood how important it was for barack obama to win this election. my personal feelings about the other candidate and his runningmate aside, i thought that the election of mr. barack obama needed to happen because it would start to reveal our potential. i also thought about how important it was to my students that barack obama win this election.

now i preface this by saying i'm just a suburban white girl, but i hope i have gained some insight into the hearts and minds of my students as well as a slight understanding of the culture they come from. while i was home for the winter break, i tried to explain my job to someone who had grown up in the same almost-all-white town as me. he couldn't help but question why my students achieved at such a low level, and blame them and their parents for it, and wonder why they didn't want to go to college and be successful. i tried to explain. most of my students and their families are struggling to just get by. their parents don't have college degrees, and neither do their parents' parents, or their aunts and uncles, or their neighbors. they weren't raised to know how to take school seriously, or why it is important to do well academically. that is not the life as they know it where they come from, as it was for us. whereas i grew up looking up to my grandfather, who put himself through college and graduated with honors from syracuse university to go on to become very successful, they don't have people that close to them who have been successful. quite honestly, within their own communities, they don't have that many people who look like they do who have been successful. so they turn to pro athletes and hip hop moguls to be their role models. but now, someone who looks like them, who grew up in a single-parent household and was raised by his grandparents, is going to be the president of the united states of america. i hope that this is as significant to my students as it is to me.

if i were to write a letter to president-elect barack obama, this is what it would say:

Dear Mr. Obama,

Above all else, I would like to thank you for being elected as President of the United States of America. I say that before I say congratulations because, as you have stated so many times during your campaign for the presidency, this election is not necessarily about you. It is about the hope that has been cultivated in the hearts and minds of American citizens all over our great country. It is about the droves of people who came out to the polls, some for the first time, because they truly believe that this time their voice would be heard. And it is also about the young people whom I work with every day who can now believe that anything truly is possible through hard work and dedication.

I teach in an urban high school in Charlotte, North Carolina. My students are primarily African American boys. If even for one moment they have considered becoming a lawyer, or a politician, or a community activist, or even just a college student, instead of becoming a professional basketball player or a rap star, you have been successful. Your purpose in running for president might have been to bring change to America overall rather than to change the mindsets of young, black men, but I think it is a positive side effect nonetheless, don't you?

Your energy and spirit have awakened many people to politics who were otherwise disinterested or disenfranchised. However your tenure as our nation's president may turn out, you have already done so much for the people of this country. For that, I thank you.

And finally, I would like to congratulate you on your victory as President of the United States of America. Please do not let my students down.

Sincerely,
Lindsey R. Quick

somewhat like dr. martin luther king, jr., i also have a dream. i have a dream that one day, my students will realize their potential. i have a dream that one day, my students and all students will have the opportunity to be successful beyond measure. i have a dream, that one day, all children will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. i hope that it will not be another forty years or more before that can come true.