By Jamie Seals
Not all dreams have become or stay nightmares.
Many experts in neuroscience and psychology have concluded that dreams are essential for all of humanity. Dreams are needed for our mental, emotional and physical health. Before August 28, 1963, many Black Americans would contend that their lives in America had been anything but a dream because their lives resembled a continuous ongoing nightmare. It is believed that nightmares are the effects of stress, trauma, depression and other adverse life events. To this day, some Black Americans are unable to conceptualize dreams because nightmares are all they know.
The nightmare of slavery; the nightmare of the Rebellion War; the nightmare of Reconstruction; the nightmare of the Jim Crow South; the nightmare of fighting for civil rights; the nightmare of fighting for Black women’s rights; the nightmare of mass incarceration in the Black community; the nightmare of over-policing and underfunding Black communities; the nightmare of gentrification; the nightmare of fighting to have the right to stay woke and the nightmare of fighting for right to show Black Lives Matter– all have contributed to a nightmare that many Black Americans are unable wake up from because this nightmare has been inherited from one generation to the next.
On Aug. 28, 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about his dream for humanity in his world-renowned “I Have a Dream” speech. American society celebrates King every year on his birthday, Jan. 15. Like clockwork, many in the media, academia and the church all flock to the “I Have a Dream speech.”
The “dream” that King spoke of has yet to be realized for many Black Americans.
American society has yet to fully live up to being a nation where men, women, boys or girls can live without being judged by their gender or by the color of their skin– especially if they are Black.
Critical, honest and transparent conversations are necessary to have not just within the Black Community, but within American society at large, regardless of race, ethnicity, color, creed or gender. For far too long, numerous Black Americans have wondered if the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream still lives. At one time or another, many of us have asked ourselves that daunting question: “Should I even dare to have a dream, especially since his dream hasn’t come to fruition yet?”
Many Black Americans generally question their capability of having a dream for the society in which they live because, in many cases, they have not been undergirded with positive reinforcements, positive affirmations, positive experiences or a level playing field. When dreams become insignificant in the eyes, minds and thoughts of the dreamers, thoughts of apathy and irrelevance become commonplace.
It would be easy to place all the blame and lay all the onus at the feet of American society for all the unanswered dreams, lack of dreams and all the dreams that have been deferred for Black Americans, but that would be unjust and unfair to do so. As a member of the Black community, I realize we shouldn’t be guilty of being hypocrites or being guilty of lacking accountability for some of our poor choices and decisions. If we, as Black Americans, lack accountability, we would be accountability dodgers since we have a part in our destiny.
As Black Americans, we must be willing and able to hear the voices of Black women when they tell about the dream. As Black Americans, we must be willing to push our Black men to take a stand, provide leadership and have soundness of mind and clarity of speech. As Black Americans, we must provide an environment where our children know the dream and have a dream of their own.
Individuals across the globe, regardless of their race, color, creed, ethnicity or gender, proclaim that Americans are dream killers due to the injustices they perceive we have committed routinely. If our nation desires to be a beacon of hope and democracy, we must fix our nation first before assisting abroad.
If America truly desires for Black Americans to live in a country where we all can have a dream, we must realize we are in this life together. When Americans rise and become one, we can move from having and discussing a dream to realizing it as our reality.
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