"I Have a Dream.."

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech changed not only the course of American history but it also had an impact in world history. MLK knew that his speech was going to make history but I believe he would have made the speech regardless. MLK's strong believe in himself and his values gave him the courage to stand in front of more than 250,000 people in our nation's capitol and if that's not enough evidence for leadership, I don't know what would be.

The possibilities were endless as to what could have happened that day in Washington D.C. And more so, the possibilities as to how the speech could change America were also endless. The biggest possibility was the end of racism. I won't say that racism no longer exists or that we've reached a time where equality between race is absolute but it is much better than in the past. I can, as a non-white student, go to school with people of all races and as Dr. King said, "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." While it can be argued that schools (and everything else in society) would eventually be desegregated, Dr. King spoke about it up front and without hesitation. Now people remember those words all the time.

As for Emerging Leaders and Finis Origine Pendet, "I Have a Dream" and Dr. King represent the fact that while a person can have the qualities of a leader, our qualities are tested everyday. It's how we chose to represent these qualities that makes the difference. Dr. King didn't have to give this speech yet he took a chance. Can you imagine an America where this speech wasn't spoken? While "I Have a Dream" was not the first (or last) demonstration for the Civil Rights Movement, the end result depended on the beginning.

For the end result (America today), someone had to take the first step.