dreamin4freedom

We are one week away from our trip to D.C. for the March on Washington 50th Anniversary. I am very excited, and so is the rest of our group. This week we had the honor of meeting Drew Hansen, author of The Dream. He spoke about why he chose to write a book about Martin Luther King, Jr’s speech,and what the process was like. It was amazing that he actually began with a lot of cold calls to important leaders in the civil rights movement, and that they were quite willing to share their stories. He did not come against major obstacles writing the book. He met and interviewed John Lewis, who to my knowledge is the only speaker at the 1963 March on Washington who is still living. John Lewis says of the book ˝Dr. King would be very, very proud”.

We also went over our itinerary which includes: Worship at Metropolitan Baptist Church (where Richard Smallwood is the minister of music..yay!), Gospel brunch at the Hamilton Hotel, the National American History Museum, and the MLK and FDR Memorials, and that is just DAY ONE!

˝People get ready, there’s a train a’ coming, you don’t need no baggage, you just get on board…all you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’, you don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.” Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, 1965

The group I am attending the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington with read the book, “The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., And The Speech That Inspired a Nation” by author Drew D. Hansen, a Seattle attorney. In his book, Mr. Hansen “explores the fascinating and little-known history of King’s legendary address.” I was particularly captivated by how Martin Luther King endured such a grueling process to write the speech. There were certain advisers he consulted, previous speeches, sermons, and of course scriptures he drew from. Who knew that the I Have a Dream speech Martin Luther King ultimately delivered was different from the one he prepared? Hansen’s book explains all this and takes the reader on a journey through the composition,language, sources, and delivery of his great speech. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. You can purchase The Dream by Drew D. Hansen through Amazon.com. I am excited to meet the man who wrote this powerful and informative book.

Martin Luther King had a dream. To see all people treated equally and fairly. His dream has not yet been realized by many people. My aunt Hellyne Summerrise had a dream too. She marched with Dr. King in the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. Her spirit lives on in me and I will take that spirit with me when I attend the March on Washington 2013. Here is an article about her published in 2002 by the Seattle Times:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=hellyne%20summerrise&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&ved=0CCkQFjAAOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seattlepi.com%2Flocal%2Farticle%2FReflecting-on-legacy-left-by-King-1077968.php&ei=xCb0Ub2KD8PSiwLciYDgCQ&usg=AFQjCNEXbQ07tjktdOjrEm04FfJ7l_JnRA&bvm=bv.49784469,d.cGE