Showing posts with label Martin Luther King. Jr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Luther King. Jr. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Barack Obama: Our African Dream and their American Dream


President Barack Obama


Barack Obama: Our African Dream and their American Dream

Africans see President Barack Obama first as the son of an African immigrant who married a white American in America. Africans are proud of this fact and are proud of him as the epitome of the African genius, an icon of the Black race and a worthy role model for the youths of Africa to celebrate and emulate in the pursuit of the dreams of a New Africa in the 21st century.


Barack Obama, Sr holding the younger Barack Obama in 1971.

There is a spirit of the audacity of Barack Obama in the heart and soul of every African youth in the continent and the Diaspora, propelling them to excel in the hope of the attainment of their ultimate conquest.

How great we would be when we have a Barack Obama as the President of every nation in Africa.

If Barack Obama can make it, then yes we can!

President Barack Obama has shattered the highest glass ceiling of the proverbial American Dream; the dream of the great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was elected at the most challenging period in America since World War Two, when Americans were facing the premonition of another Great Depression and the heart rending sacrifice of thousands of innocent American souls in a nightmarish unconventional war against legions of lunatic fringe elements of Islamic fundamentalism. Yet, undauntedly Barack Obama has taken up the herculean challenges of the leadership of the greatest nation on earth, from confronting the goliaths on Wall Street over health care insurance and Machiavellian capitalism in his dogged defence of the common folks on Main Street to marshalling the reformation of America for the nation building of a New America in the leadership of the world.

Will Barack Obama succeed?
President Barack Obama is already galloping ahead on the highway of history and his cheerleaders are cheering him all the way and he is not looking back.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
This article is from a new book on President Barack Obama by the author.



Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Dreams Do Come True

17 Jan 2009 00:10 Africa/Lagos

Dreams Do Come True

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by Benjamin Ola. Akande, Dean of Webster University School of Business & Technology:


As a child growing up in Nigeria, I was a dreamer. My parents never dismissed my dreams. They were always encouraging. No matter how outright unbelievable my dreams were, they would assure me that dreams do come true. Dreams provide a glimpse of what the future will look like. I wish I could have recorded all those dreams.


Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream was recorded. It was a dream that was played out in front of thousands of people and like most dreams, no one really knew how it would play out. As the dream was recalled over the years, it became clear that this was a significant and compelling vision of the future. Martin's dream was in the form of a remarkable prose on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Most of us can hear him recite this dream in our subconscious. "I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." It is a dream that visualizes a future where all those things that seemed impossible and improbable will happen despite overwhelming obstacles.


Barack Obama

The election of Barack Obama was a manifestation of Martin's dream. I would like to believe that Martin Luther King's dream highlighted how difficult it is to make change happen. Martin spoke about how mountains and hills (obstacles) shall be made lower and rough places (institutional changes) will be made straight. The recognition was that monumental changes of this magnitude take considerable time. Indeed, it takes the force of nature to break through the harsh reality of status quo and history.


Dreaming enables us to transcend the present and position us on the balcony for a better view of the future. And, because dreaming offers no restrictions, the greatest dreamers are often characterized as crazy and out of touch with reality. What history has shown us is that you may vilify them, you can criticize them, and you may even assassinate them. But, you can't kill a dreamer's dream. MLK's dream took a long time to come to fruition, with small significant steps and some big setbacks along the way. But on Nov. 4, 2008, the full realization of the great civil rights leader's dream came to pass with the election of a junior senator from Illinois as the first African American President of The United States of America..


Martin Luther King taught us that adversity is a lot easier to overcome than success. And that is the power of dreams. He knew it would happen. He even foresaw that his own demise may keep him from seeing his dream come true. "I've seen the promised land," he said. "I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land." Forty-five years later, his vision is still unfolding. But one thing is crystal clear. Dreams do come true.


Source: Webster University School of Business and Technology

CONTACT: Susan Kerth of Webster University, +1-314-246-8232


Web Site: http://www.webster.edu/