And the Dream Becomes a Reality

When was the last time you asked yourself, or those around you, if Martin Luther King, Jr's speech had succeeded in becoming more than words? Maybe you take it for granted, as I usually do, that segregation is simply a word in our history books that is defined by more words. Sure there are stories that make the news every so often of hate crimes and stubborn individuals, but haven't there always been those stories since the beginning of our existence? The things which do not make the news are the unions that happen each day, the bridges which are built by small, nondescript interactions in the lunch rooms and classrooms of this country. When I asked my students to write what their favorite parts of English class were, and then their least favorites, during their final day with me this Monday, the answers I received were not surprising. Some enjoyed reading, some hated writing, some loved the movies and many of them liked making "new" friends. Huh. Really, new friends as established juniors in high school? I scanned my room at the formed groups among computers and what I saw actually took my breath away. These were the same groups of students I have had for 90 days, and most of them I taught last year, so we can count them up and say I've had them for 180 . . . . I saw my Latino soccer star at a round table with 3 self declared "rednecks"; two black Gospel singers looking up music with my KKK history buff (not a supporter); my football superstar, with a nickname of "Tank", quietly drumming a desk while listening to stories told by an Exceptional Student, who's been outcast by his peers as a total "loser". These relationships had been forming since August, yet I was oblivious to their formations! But I think that's the whole point. These are not forced interactions and they are not Kumbaya circles responding to themes from To Kill a Mockingbird. These are teenagers, who will inevitably become adults in our world very shortly. Do they still see the difference in skin color? Absolutely. Don't you? Do they have opinions about immigration? You bet. But they are inadvertently closing the gaps between basic human needs and the human condition. There will always be discrepancies within our society and unfair treatment among our peers, but these relationships are not the ones worth paying attention to. The relationships to focus on in this new year are the ones which are brewing all around us; the ones which will not be on the news. Focus, instead, on the people sitting behind you at a restaurant and the consumers at your grocery store and the students at your schools and be in awe at how far we have come, even in the whisper of 90 days.

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."