In Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; by Jack Levine, posted with his permission

In Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jack Levine, Founder
4Generations Institute
jack@4Gen.org
850/567-5252

It was late August, 1963. I was 12. I remember my father calling me into his room. The radio was on, and I heard cheering. It was not a baseball game kind of cheer.....it seemed louder and longer.

My dad, aged 72 and blind, pointed in the direction of the radio with one hand, and put his other index finger to his lips....he was telling me to be quite....and to listen.

Next I heard the voice. A combination of speech and singing. The cadence was like none I ever heard. The word music rose and fell, the power was like a wave....swelling and then resting, soon to rise again.

My father's blind eyes were shining in the window light. He was tearful, his lips pursed, his head gently nodding in agreement. Seeing him so moved gave me the sense that history was being made. There in that sun-bathed room, the sound of that voice, the power of persuasion. I never saw my father so attentive. All of his energy focused on listening to the words. He slowly nodded to their cadence.

"I have a dream that one day my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech commanded the attention of not only the half-million who gathered in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln's statue, but touched the hearts and minds of a nation to pay attention and take action.

That speech on that sweltering August day ignited a charge of energy that would not be stopped.....not by by gushing fire hoses, biting dogs, enraged threats, bombs or sniper's bullets. At the tender age of 35, that eloquent preacher from Atlanta set in motion a set of individual and collective actions which would change how people viewed not only our neighbors, but ourselves. The impact of that leader's courage was felt not only in that tumultuous decade of the 1960's, but for generations to come.

The ideals of Dr. King's mission were rooted in his Christian faith; his operating principles and techniques were borrowed from Gandhi. But no matter what our faith, race, ethnicity, gender or age, the vision of Dr. King is a beacon for us all.

In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over three million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice to be protested, and action to be taken. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. His life was cut short at age 39 by an assassin's bullet in April, 1968.

Has all that Dr. King envisioned come to pass? Not yet. Has his legacy brought forth a tremendous surge of change in attitude, law, and economic opportunity? Yes. But there's so much still to be accomplished. Justice is not static...it's active, and must be actively asserted and strictly guarded every day.

In my 35-plus year professional life I've learned that progress is not achieved by intention alone. Strategic advocacy is the only way wrongs can be righted and ideas can be transformed into action. All of our voices and votes are needed.

In memory and in tribute to those who marched, fought and sacrificed for the rights we hold dear, being responsible citizens is one of our highest callings.

Jack Levine, Founder
4Generations Institute
Tallahassee