On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. spoke with passion and conviction to the over 250,000 civil rights supporters that had gathered in front of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. They had come to Washington to march for Jobs and Freedom. His speech that day was a defining moment in the American Civil Rights Movement. This week marks the anniversary of that speech. Fifty years later the phrase “I have a dream” still brings to mind his powerful words that resonated with a people who were tired of being treated as second class citizens.
This week the movie “The Butler” is showing here in Bracebridge. I think it is a brilliant movie. It takes the fact that an African-American man named Eugene Allen served as the Head Butler in the White House for thirty-five years. From this the screenwriters create a story that encompasses the years that passed through 8 presidencies. It includes the rise and influence of the Black Panther movement and the Civil Rights movement. It portrays the changes wrought by the decades of struggle for equality and justice. It is fitting that the showing of the movie coincides with the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
People are called into leadership in various ways. Eugene Allen quietly but doggedly encouraged change towards the treatment of the Black staff at the White House. Martin Luther King Jr. provided encouragement from a high profile and public place. I believe that God calls each of us to offer leadership in the place where we are and with the people that are around us. You and I will never make the kind of speech that Martin Luther King Jr. made but we are each given opportunity to exercise leadership and to encourage change for justice.
