Dr. King and the Dreamers

photo by duncan c

One of the great moments in my memory of speech-making was when Dr. King stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and told us: “I have a dream…” Those words are embedded in my heart and in the hearts of so many other people.

As I think about the Dreamers—a term that President Trump refuses to use—I think about Dr. King’s all-encompassing dream he gave us in August of 1963. We are in shaky ground in this country if we let these 800,000 young people be denied of their hopes for a better life. Yes, they are illegal. Yes, their parents brought them into this country as little children but most of them were born in this country.

And yet somewhere along the line from home or school or our history we kindled a hope into their hearts. The American dream. They could work hard, get an education and go on to college—like so many of us that were born in this country. Months ago I drove over to Greenville one night to hear some eight or ten of these dreamers open up their hearts and share their stories. Those I heard were outstanding students. They had won all sorts of academic awards for their hard work. Members of honor societies in high school. Some had already received scholarships at schools like Furman. One young lady had enrolled in cosmetology school only to be told toward the end of her studies she could not receive certification to work in our state. 

These 800,000 represent some of the finest young people in our country. It is hard for me to imagine that we would send them back to places they have never lived. They would take with them the broken dreams this country had snatched from their their hands. Some of their parents fled not only from poverty but also from fear for their lives. They wanted something better for their children than closed doors and fearful nights with no promise for a better world. Sounds like the rest of us.

President Trump has left these young people scared that they might lose all they have worked for. One day the President says he will protect the Dreamers, another day he states we could let them stay with strings attached. The Wall. More security along the borders. 2,000 miles of fencing to keep our neighbors out.

None of us want this country less secure. We all want to live in communities that are safe for all our citizenry. But these Dreamers have nothing to do with political matters. But they have much to do with the kind of country we want to be. How tragic it would be to close doors after all the opportunities our country’s provided these young people. To deny the Dreamers a chance for a great future would say much about the kind of people we truly are.

Last Spring my wife and I spent thirteen days in Ireland. One day we stopped in New Ross.

Replica of boat that bought Irish to America

From that village thousands of folk left everything they had ever known for the promise of a better life for them and their children. We saw a replica of the tiny ship that crammed over 150 people into their cargo holds. They left with tiny bundles of clothing. Most were poor.  Many could not even read or write. They left their homeland because they were starving and saw little hope in the county they were born in. They sacrificed everything for the hoped-for-American dream. A place where they could work and have hungry stomachs no more. A place where they would not have to bury their children because of disease and poverty. They risked it all because of the American dream. Many died along the way.

And when they arrived many of these immigrants found resentment and hatred. Yet they persisted and worked and determined to make the dream they had of America a reality for themselves and those they loved. We haver heard some of the stories of our Irish neighbors. They have gone on to enter a multitude of different professions and helped make this country the rich nation we are.

We’ve come as long way since that day in Washington when Dr. King gave us a great vision. As we celebrate  the great man’s birthday let us bring his dream up to date. Years from now almost a million folk that we opened the doors to will find their lives richer and far more meaningful because we gave them a chance. In doing so our nation will once again live up to the promise of those words embedded at the base of that statue so many first saw when they came into our land. 

We held out hospitality to “the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to be free”. And we  opened wide the golden door for so many. A nation that stands by it’s values will be stronger and better for the doing.

photo by J Kim / flickr

--Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com