Becoming the dream

On Aug. 28, 1963, my grandmother was there. She stood on the National Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial when Martin Luther King Jr. articulated his dream for America. After making the long trek from Savannah, Ga., she stood with about 300,000 others to demand jobs and freedom. But, more importantly, she stood there to move America a step closer to the dream that she, King and millions across the country shared: an America that lived out the true meaning of its creed.

In the next week, as we commemorate King’s life, we will ask ourselves, “What becomes of the dream?” It is this question that will frame the week’s discussions. At the same time, we’ll witness and celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama, our first black president. A man who benefited from the opportunities that the civil rights generation fought for and many died for. It’s tempting to see Obama’s election as the fulfillment of the dream, but many people have pointed out that America’s struggles with race are far from over. I think there’s really more to it than that.

One has to admit that Obama’s presidency is—to some degree—the fulfillment of King’s dream. But King’s dream was bigger than himself because it was shared by millions across the country. Likewise, Obama’s election is bigger than he is. It is, in fact, shared by each of us. I believe we—each of us—are the fulfillment of our ancestors’ and predecessors’ dreams. We are the citizens of the new America that elected Obama as its president.

More importantly, though, we are the products of the dreams our grandparents worked to realize. Because of them, we are able to live as well as we do. This is a thought I keep with me when life at Duke gets difficult, as it inevitably does. I remember that my ancestors worked as slaves and sharecroppers under the Georgia sun with the dream of a better life for me, that my grandfather worked in the civil rights movement in Savannah even after waking up one morning to threats from the Klan at his front door. Because of them, today, I live a life where my greatest hardship is having too much to read and write.

For other Duke students, the story is different. Some of our ancestors immigrated to America with nothing and worked to build a life here. Perhaps they toiled for years in their home countries to scrape together enough money to travel here and create a better life for their children. Some walked the Trail of Tears and pieced together an existence after everything had been taken from them. Some worked in America’s factories to support their families, and many, no doubt, went to war on this country’s behalf. I like to think that they were all propelled by a dream that culminated in our lives today.

This gives us the imperative to not only live up to the spirit of the dream, but to become dreamers ourselves. If our lives are built on generations of dreamers then I think it’s our responsibility to dream on behalf of future generations. And certainly there are many dreams to be had: an America that does more to spread opportunity to the poor and underprivileged; an end to the drug wars in Central and South America; peace in the Middle East; the resolution of widespread hunger, disease and violence in Africa; an end to terrorism of all kinds.... We can dream of whatever we choose, and work toward fulfilling those dreams for our children and their children.

I believe that we are “what becomes of the dream.” Tomorrow’s dreams will be our own.