2004: Glen Williams

Let Freedom Ring                          Glen Williams, 2 Oct. 2004

I’m too young, believe it or not, to remember a lot of what went on in the 60’s. I recall bits and piecesᾰthose black and white images of black and white folks. I recall them walking together, hand in hand, arm and arm, and the fire hoses and clubs and dogs they faced. I sat cross legged on the floor, curious about it all.

I recall even less about what got those people walkingᾰsomething about a woman wanting to sit near the front of a bus and a very animated black man standing in front of one BIG statue of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln sat there quietly, looking on. A lot of people had gathered to hear the man, and they shouted their support as he exclaimed “let freedom ring!”

In college I watched the entire speech. He said that everyone had been given a promissory noteᾰa checkᾰfor freedom. Some folksᾰthe black folksᾰcouldn’t cash their check, though. It came back marked “insufficient funds.” To correct the situation, he said, simply cash the check. Make good on the promise. Let them vote, for example. Let them eat in a restaurant or stay in a hotel.

I read that speech over and over again, and I continue to do so. It’s a masterpiece. I share bits of it with my classes, especially the beauty of its structure and the beauty of the vision offered at the end, which goes something like this:

 “I . . . dream that one day . . . sons of former slaves and sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

“That . . . little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

“I . . . dream my four little children . . . will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

I see what got all those people walkingᾰblacks and whitesᾰholding hands, walking down the streets and across bridges, even when they faced certain violence.

Today we walk to honor them for their fortitude.

They made us better.

Their ally was our freedom of speech, which permitted them to gather peaceably and petition our Government to do the right thing.

The civil rights movement is but one episode; there have been others and there will be others still.

It is a good way to do things, and it does get things done; the pen is as mighty as the sword.

This freedom is exhilarating; it’s refreshing.   It’s like the “high” you get after a good run.

Thank you for assembling today, and walking and running, to celebrate this freedom.