56 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr had a dream promising a vision of different groups of people of different colors coming together in unity in the United States. Though our government and country remain deeply polarized, we are one step closer towards racial equality. As my students and I came together today to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr’s anniversary through community service with 1000 other people at MLK Day of Service, I see the embodiment of that dream in none other than one of my former students Jessica Luna.
Though she’s ultimately unclear what her future “dreams” entail, it intertwines a combination of perhaps going to USC (to appease her parents), and providing a better life for herself and her family.
I have no doubt that a student like her will grow up with continued success and a continued passion and desire to make the world a better place.
As we were painting today the classrooms of George Washington Carver Middle School, I could see her optimism and her desire to make the world a better place. Perhaps her future can entail the presidency if she decides to seek it, although she would be a pretty short one.
Whatever the case, I have no doubt that people like her are the key ingredient to making the world a happier place, and the key to carrying out MLK’s vision in the future. Free at last, free at last – thank God almighty we are free at last.
