FORT CARSON, Colo. -- More than 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, something that still resonates with Americans today.
Fort Carson Soldiers gathered at The Hub Jan. 16 for the 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson Equal Opportunity Office Martin Luther King Jr. observance to remember the man and his drive toward civil rights.
The observance opened with Isabel Castro, a high school junior, reading the poem, "Reality," she wrote at age 14. She won a poetry contest for it and was presented with an award from the mayor of Honolulu.
The Rev. Kent Ingram of the First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, the keynote speaker, shared that by learning about King "it gives us a chance to catch a glimpse of the future as it can be."
A part of the "I Have a Dream" speech that resonates with Ingram is when King said he will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream." He recalled how his family went on vacation, returning to a place he had been three years before. He remembered the small stream and the vast amount of fish in it during his previous visit. On vacation, he realized there had been a flood and the tiny stream was temporarily very wide, pulling enormous trees out by their roots and leaving debris everywhere. At that moment, Ingram said he realized how powerful water can be.
Ingram said the "I Have a Dream" speech is the best speech given in his lifetime. Growing up in Illinois, there weren't any black students in Ingram's school. The only black people he knew worked at the small beach near his house, referred to as the "colored beach." His parents didn't allow him to go there on the weekends, something as a young boy he was unable to understand but does now. He said he thinks of King as a 20th century prophet and "never tires of his words as it forces him to look forward."
The People's United Methodist Church Choir shared a couple of choral selections, including "We Shall Overcome," a song that has become an anthem of the civil rights movement. Bill Gamble, pastor of People's United Methodist Church, who was in attendance at the "I Have a Dream" speech, said, although he didn't know exactly what was happening, he knew it was big. He remembered hearing people sing "We Shall Overcome."
Years later, he was there when the Berlin Wall fell and remembered hearing people singing the song as they linked arms. As the choir sang, many audience members sang along, familiar with the popular hymn.
Ingram concluded his speech by noting the work of King is not over.
"There is still brokenness, pain and prejudice, but it is something we can look forward to one day."
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