Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"I have a dream"

It's my composition about a lack of role models nowadays - read it and enjoy it.... 

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to your article about the lack of role models today. I feel that it was most unfair and that there are many admirable role models to inspire us today. I have always felt that people who attempt to push back the frontiers of knowledge or who put their lives in danger of others should be admired. I would like to describe someone who has inspired me personally and who in my opinion has fulfilled these criteria - the American protestant pastor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Throughout his life pastor King constantly looked and faced new challenges. He proved his courage and adventurous spirit in 1963, when Luther King and black leaders organized the March on Washington; a massive protest in Washington D. C., for jobs and civil rights, against segregation and racial discrimination among black and white people. This public outcry was the major protest in USA and made him world-famous. After that spectacular protest in Washington D. C, it could have been difficult for him to settle back into the routine of normal life, and indeed later a black leader as Martin Luther King Jr. could have problems with the law going to the court because of the protest. But, admirably, he then set about aiming a new target for himself in fighting for freedom when he was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize for peace because his famous speech “I have a dream” preached in 1963 in the March on Washington D. C. - the speech and the march created the political momentum that resulted in the Civil Right Act of 1964, which prohibited segregation in public accommodations and prohibited discrimination in education and employment. After the march, he became a well-respected and popular black leader, making an important contribution to the American democratic rights.Even then Dr. Martin Luther didn’t rest on his laurels. Instead, after reaching the top in his life being known worldwide, with a Nobel Prize and receiving a visit of the Pope, he decided to go back in his activism, keeping on protesting against racism and prejudice. So, throughout 1966 and 1967 King increasingly turned the focus of his activism to the redistribution of the nation’s economic wealth to overcome entrenched black poverty. This would have been a major undertaking at any person or leader, when afterwards most people just want to sit back and relax. Not surprisingly, there was considerable opposition, as black people felt these popular outcries which he was participating would put too much strain on him. However, he had kept himself fit throughout his career as a pastor and at the same moment his activism against segregation and racism around the world kept on happening. Also, he was therefore ready to undertake his final challenge – in the spring of 1968 he went to Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking black garbage workers when on April 4, in Memphis, he was assassinated.Overall, I think that I most admire his spirit and optimism. Neither cynical nor money-grabbing, he took great personal risks to push for knowledge and love. He achieved more in his short lifetime than most people ever dream of, and was truly inspirational to others, not only of his own generation but also of mine. Who could ask for a better role model for our time? 

Yours faithfully,

Cristiano Lima

Teacher/Translator