dexer - Blogs - TheBlackList Pub2024-03-28T17:28:02Zhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/dexerThe State Of The Dreamhttps://www.theblacklist.net/profiles/blogs/the-state-of-the-dream2011-08-26T16:40:42.000Z2011-08-26T16:40:42.000ZRaynard Jacksonhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/RaynardJackson<div><p><b>August 25, 2011</b><b> </b></p><p><b> </b> </p><p><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?q=photos+of+martin+luther+king&hl=en&sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7SKPB_en&biw=800&bih=399&tbm=isch&tbnid=i7utYVkhen0EhM:&imgrefurl=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?GRid=582&page=gr&docid=M4FdUKmKLoPo2M&w=250&h=276&ei=KKRXTrPzMsHC0AGsnu2eDA&zoom=1"></a></p><p><b>Raynard Jackson</b></p><p><b> </b></p><p>With all the attention being focused on the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, I have been pondering what he would have to say about the state of his legacy. In the immortal words of Lionel Richie (former lead singer of the Commodores):</p><p> </p><p>“I may be just a foolish dreamer but I don’t care</p><p>Cause I know my happiness is waiting out there somewhere</p><p class="verse">I'm searching for that silver lining</p><p class="verse">Horizons that I've never seen</p><p class="verse">Oh I'd like to take just a moment and dream my dream</p><p>Oooh, dream my dream” (from the song Zoom1977).</p><p class="verse">I can imagine King looking down from on high and observing the state of his dream:</p><p class="verse">What the hell has become of my dream?</p><p class="verse">Nothing is what it really seems.</p><p class="verse">My people have been emancipated, but yet are not free,</p><p class="verse">Just look at the high rate of poverty.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">My people have better education,</p><p class="verse">But they also exhibit less dedication.</p><p class="verse">Their thirst for material possessions,</p><p class="verse">Seems to be their only obsession.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project,</p><p class="verse">Let the record show I totally object.</p><p class="verse">To spend $ 120 million and to what end?</p><p class="verse">That’s not what the dream was about my friend.</p><p> </p><p>Lei Yixin, the sculptor that was chosen,</p><p>When I found out, my mouth was frozen.</p><p>A man from China where there are no human rights,</p><p>You can believe I would have put up a big fight!</p><p> </p><p>$ 800,000 to my family for the use of my name,</p><p>Yolanda, Marty, Dexter, and Bernice what a shame.</p><p>Yeah, I know there is money in intellectual property,</p><p>But, my dream was always more towards the heavenly.</p><p> </p><p>A German to build a memorial to the Holocaust?</p><p>The Jewish community would have been at a loss.</p><p>But my people gave the work to a non American,</p><p>This oddity I really can’t understand.</p><p> </p><p class="verse"> You couldn’t have chosen someone like the sculptor Ed Dwight?</p><p class="verse">Afterall, the U.S. Air Force trusted him to take planes into flight.</p><p class="verse">A Black man trained as a sculptor, aviator and an aeronautical engineer,</p><p class="verse">His choice should have been crystal clear.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">Getting the raw materials from a foreign land,</p><p class="verse">To build the platform on which I stand.</p><p class="verse">From China of all places, a repressive regime,</p><p class="verse">This choice makes me want to scream!</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">Temporary workers from China you brought to this land,</p><p class="verse">What, there were no American workers skilled with their hands?</p><p class="verse">No doubt this was all about cheap wages,</p><p class="verse">This has been man’s downfall throughout the ages.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">Oh, and what’s this I hear about the granite brought in from China?</p><p class="verse">You couldn’t find any in North Carolina?</p><p class="verse">Has my dream really come down to this?</p><p class="verse">I thought by now there would be a new twist.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">When I left earth to take my rest,</p><p class="verse">I thought my people could pass the test.</p><p class="verse">Now, as I look down on this situation,</p><p class="verse">I wish I could have one more incarnation.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">But, who am I to question what God has started?</p><p class="verse">Maybe that’s why I am a member of the dearly departed.</p><p class="verse">I now wish I could have one more run,</p><p class="verse">But my fate was tied to the barrel of a gun.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">So, as I leave you with these final words,</p><p class="verse">I hope the true meaning of my vision is what you heard.</p><p class="verse">I am not allowed to come back and continue the fight,</p><p class="verse">So, please try to get my dream right.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">I will pray that God will open your eyes,</p><p class="verse">Because what I see is a stunning surprise.</p><p class="verse">The dream was not about the money spent,</p><p class="verse">But helping those who could barely pay their rent.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">Yes, it’s true that the dream was for all of mankind,</p><p class="verse">But, what I see you doing is not what I had in mind.</p><p class="verse">My dream was not about the color of the skin,</p><p class="verse">But, tell me where does the Black man fit in?</p><p class="verse"> </p><p class="verse">But, giving contracts to those from a foreign nation,</p><p class="verse">Was not part of my dream of emancipation?</p><p class="verse">Everything for this project could have come from within</p><p class="verse">Please understand what I am saying to you my friend.</p><p class="verse"> </p><p><i>Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (</i><a href="http://www.excellstyle.com/">www.excellstyle.com</a><i>) & USAfrica Magazine (<a href="http://www.USAfricaonline.com">www.USAfricaonline.com</a>). </i></p></div>