honoring MLK

I grew up seeing the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Before I ever *heard* his "I Have a Dream" speech, I saw a printed, framed excerpt hanging in my grandparents' home. As a teenager, I was very upset when that framed speech went to my older sister; how could my grandmother give it to HER, when *I* was the one invested in social justice? *I* was the one teaching my classmates about the struggle against apartheid. *I* was the one who insisted my American History teacher not exclude the Civil Rights Movement from our class. I couldn't understand my grandmother's decision then, but now it makes perfect sense. I didn't need to have Dr. King's words on my wall. I'd already had my "awakening," but my sister, it seemed, had not. A couple of years later, my sister went away to college and for my birthday sent me this beautiful photograph of Dr. King. We hardly speak these days, but I know she just bought a new condo and I'm sure the framed speech has a place of honor in her new home. I hope those words mean more to her now than they did when we were teens.