I Didn't Teach the "I Have a Dream" Speech

I taught "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

In the spring of 1963, Dr King and his organization targeted Birmingham, Alabama, with a series of peaceful demonstrations aimed at addressing segregation. The Birmingham police reacted violently with vicious dogs and firehoses. Hundreds of protestors were jailed, including Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr King was criticized for protesting in Birmingham with eight white clergymen publishing a public letter calling his actions, “unwise and untimely.” Dr King responded in his own letter citing everyone from Jesus to Paul to Thomas Jefferson.

My family and I have driven the very long 16 hour drive to Florida a few times—we are from the Midwest, so unless it’s an emergency, we are driving no matter how far it is. We like to vacation in Navarre Beach every few years. It’s quiet and not as expensive as other beaches.

On one of our trips back, we decided to stop for BBQ in Memphis. I looked up “the best BBQ in Memphis” and we followed the directions to Central BBQ.

I was filing the kids out of the van and didn’t pay attention to my surroundings, but as we walked up to the restaurant, I looked up and saw something that took my breath away. I was walking by the Lorraine Motel. I knew it before I saw the sign because I had taught the letters and the speeches and the writing of Dr King for well over a decade. My huge American Lit textbook had pictures of the hotel and I had looked at them six times a day while teaching my Civil Rights unit for years.

I couldn’t help but well up with tears. I wasn’t ready to see where the civil rights icon was gunned down. I wasn’t prepared to point out the place where a man was murdered because he fought for equality and a place at the table. I wasn’t ready that day, but I did it anyway because my kids should know the ground they were standing on belongs a dark history that we can’t manage to get out from under.

And, here’s the thing: I am a white woman and I dare not sit here and pontificate on anything, especially not on this day. But, I did teach Dr King for years to mostly white students. Here is some advice for my white friends…read “I Have a Dream” but study “Letter From Birmingham Jail.”

I won’t quote the letter, but I did link it. It’s six pages and I promise they will change your life and your outlook on Dr King. His legacy has been whitewashed and his militant opposition to racism has been tamped down. His words to white moderates need fresh eyes and his mission needs reinforced.

Dr King was a radical who led others to push for change. He was murdered for his words and deeds.

In the day and age of school boards banning books by Black authors, attacking DEI, and whitewashing American history, the least we can do is read Dr King on MLK day.

~Jess