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Accidental MLK encounter
In August 1963 I had just finished my first year of college and went to visit a friend in Washington, D.C.
Like most 19-year-old college boys we tried to find places to drink and we tried to find girls. We also tried to pretend we were political animals.
His mother was a big deal real estate broker and one night she told us she had tickets for a big demonstration for jobs and peace on the mall the next day. Her tickets were behind the speakers, but still on the stage. We thought there might be some girls there, so we went.
No girls, but it was a nice day and a huge crowd, so we decided to stay and listened half-heartedly to a bunch of speakers who tried to rile the crow up. We didn't know much about civil rights or anything else, so we were largely unmoved by the whole thing.
Then came this guy, the Rev. Martin Luther King. He gave this speech and the crowd really got into it. Especially when he kept saying, over and over, "I have a dream ..."
I remember my friend turning to me and asking what the big deal was. "We all have dreams," he said. I remember shaking my head and we headed off, looking for girls.
Amazing how stupid you can be when you are 19.
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beefsupreme | Jan. 18, 2012 at 3:14 p.m. (report)
lots of young people were a part of the civil rights movement. i find it rather hard to believe that there were no women there.
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JJ | Jan. 18, 2012 at 1:21 p.m. (report)
Well, he was just 19 at the time. How many of were politically aware as teenagers?
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beefsupreme | Jan. 18, 2012 at 1:13 p.m. (report)
what an embarrassing story for someone so passionate about race relations.
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