In his speech in 1963, Martin Luther King's advisors told him to leave out the "I Have a Dream" part. He addressed over 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, and as he spoke, a friend yelled from the crowd. "Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!" That friend was Mahalia Jackson, known at the time as the Queen of Gospel. She encouraged him to say what he felt from his heart to be true. Clarence Jones, one of his advisors, watched as Martin slid his prepared papers to the side. His neatly wrapped 5 minute speech became 17 minutes of free form passion. He said "I Have a Dream" not once, but eight times. ⠀
Dr. King said, "Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." He embodied this point by not allowing for his vision to be stifled, and for making space for others to express themselves too; if not with individual freedom, then with integrity and the strength of power in numbers. Mrs. Jackson was a living example of necessary disruption. She pushed for innovative thinking and expression, even when popularly inadvisable. This moment reminds us that we can speak, act, create, and live for truth. The dream lives on. The fight continues.