University of Virginia Library

America Depressed

America is depressed today. The
final human tributes have been
shown to Dr. Martin Luther King,
but we who are still fighting this
oppressed world realize that Dr.
King's dream of a just and equal
America must not die as the author
is put to his final resting place.

As the coffin closes upon the
life of a civil rights leader, we glance
at our U.S. Constitution which has
declared that "all men are created
equally" and each individual has
the right of petition, of assembly
and of peaceful protest. This our
America, we call the land of the
free and the home of the brave
lost much of it's freedom and
crushed its dynamic portrait as
the assassin in Memphis squeezed
the cold and senseless trigger which
initiated unrest in the nation.

The man who stood and faced
the nation and strived to correct
the social and moral injustices is
dead, but his dream shall live on.
The reality of this dream shall
live in the hearts of all civil rights
workers. The dream is deeply
rooted in my heart and with the
help of god, I shall work in the
true fulfillment of Dr. King's
dream.

Actually, nothing we say pertaining
to Rev. King's life is appropriate,
for he was known as
the greatest living American of
our times. King's non-violent stand
shall live on and it shall work.
We have lost our Dream Initiator,
but the Reality shall be our
challenge as we stand with our
Creator as "We shall overcome."