#453 the dream of many

It would be hard to miss the fact that today is the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.  Magazines and news stories are full of reminiscence about the historic oratory and the state of race relations in the country today.  Certainly the speech was significant and a half century is an appropriate milestone to engender reflection and assessment of how things have changed.

But as with anything, no matter how powerful and wonderful the speech may have been, it was still one event in a long series of events that changed the course of history.  It is at times like these that pundits fixate on MLK's speech and its impact, but forget the decade of events that led up to the event and made possible the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  

Reverend King would likely not have been able to eloquently articulate his dream to 250,000 people on the National Mall had it not been for Rosa Parks in 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956, school integration at Little Rock Central High School in 1957 or the sit-ins at the Woolworth's counter in Greensboro in 1960.  Each of these events played a part in drawing attention to the cause and empowering people to stand up for it.

As one person stands up and passionately shares the story of their dream, remember that it evolved from many before him and requires many more to execute it.  When you acknowledge milestones or celebrate successes in your organization's history, take care to put the event in perspective.  You can honor the one in front of the microphone for oratory genius, while simultaneously remembering that dozens or hundreds of others -- many no longer at the institution or ever acknowledged for their role -- conspired to make the big event possible.  

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
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