His most famous &8220;I Have a Dream Speech&8221; was the culmination of a longstanding and heartfelt wish of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to bring about change in his native land.

As early as his young teen years, he is known to have spoken publicly about the same subject &045; equality for all, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or skin color.

When King was a 15-year-old student, he entered a speech contest. He won. The final words of his speech are these:

&8220;My heart throbs anew in the hope that Š (America) will cast down the last barrier to perfect freedom. And I with my brother of blackest hue, possessing at last my rightful heritage and holding my head erect, may stand beside the Saxon &045; a Negro and yet a man!&8221;

King was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Ga., the son of a minister and a teacher. His education began early, even before he was old enough to enter school.

A gifted student, he finished his high school education at 15 and went on to college, seminary and graduate school, earning a Ph.D. in theology before accepting his first job as a minister in Montgomery, Ala., when he was 25 years old.

The time was right in the country for a brilliant leader to rally Civil Rights advocates. King was that leader, arriving on the scene at a time when activists were awakening to the dark reality of segregation and discrimination, not only in the South, where 70 percent of American blacks lived after World War II, but in large cities throughout the rest of the country.

In 1954, the same year King began his ministry in Montgomery at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that segregated schools were unconstitutional in the now famous Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The stage was set. The next year, King led the movement to desegregate the bus system in Montgomery. The story grows from there, as King became leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference based in Atlanta.

Labeled &8220;trouble-makers&8221; and &8220;agitators&8221; by the white rural South and by many in urban areas in the North, the Civil Rights advocates who marched and stood with King bore courageously the hatred flung at them as they protested discriminatory actions and laws.

The new medium of television aired some of the confrontations, such as law enforcers turning powerful water hoses on peaceful marchers and attack dogs let loose by policemen against nonviolent protesters. Public opinion mounted in favor of the activists.

Cities such as Montgomery, Selma, Atlanta and Memphis made the news, as did the states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and others. King’s leadership shined like a lamp on a hillside, though not everyone could see the light. King, at 39, died at the hands of an assassin in 1968. He lives on, however, as one of the giants of 20th-century America.

&8220;I have a dream,&8221; he said in the speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1963. &8220;I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.&8221;

His vision was for all Americans, not just black America. His own words played at his funeral bear out that fact. Mourners heard his taped voice say to them. &8220;I’d like someone to mention Š that I did try to feed the hungry Š to clothe those who were naked Š to visit those who were in prison Š to love and serve humanity.&8221;

Living up to his dream remains a challenge for all Americans. Celebrating his life and leadership is a privilege for all to cherish.

Joan Gandy

is community editor of The Democrat. She can be reached at (60)445-3549 or by e-mal at joan.gandy@ natchezdemocrat.com.