Echoes of the dream in Barrington
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have A Dream” speech, delivered in 1963, resonates to this day.
On Sunday, you could hear the echoes at Barrington High School, during a program titled “Delivering the Dream.”
The program, sponsored by the Students of the Latino Leadership Team, Code Red student leadership group, and the Barrington Area Ministerial Association, paid tribute to the speech and its message on the eve of the annual day devoted to King.
The dream was delivered in song by the Barrington Children's Choir and in dance by the Bataille Academie of the Danse.
It was also elaborated in a series of speeches by various “dreamers,” portrayed by local students and community members, young and old, black and white and Latino.
The dreamers included former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson, labor leader Cesar Chavez, freedom rider Viola Luizzo and, of course, Dr. King, as portrayed by Rev. William Greene, a retired United Methodist pastor.
Henry Wilson, a junior at the high school, portrayed Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched arm in arm with King at Selma.
Wilson said participating in the program was a learning experience.
“I have learned more about the dream and that fulfilling the dream takes deliberate action and meaningful action and speaking out to the community and hopefully passing along the message of hope and that one individual can truly make a difference in a community or country,” said Wilson.
The Rev. Zina Jacque, pastor of the Community Church of Barrington and one of the event's organizers, said the event began two years ago with the goal of lifting up the legacy of Dr. King and invite people into making their own dreams.
She said in this program, “We're asking everybody to have their own dream for the betterment of the world and to deliver it.”
During his speech, Greene as King asked, “What is a dream?”
He said, “It can mean someone who sees a reasonable solution to a disparaging situation and is willing to work hard and endure suffering in order to make it a reality.”
Before the performance, Greene said, “I am old enough that the '60s was probably the most exciting part of my life so far. I was out there in those protest lines, and so the work that he did is actually a part of who I am growing up, informing my values.”
Jacque said King's dream, while still potent, has yet to be completely delivered.
“He was an advocate of all people having their full rights to become whoever it is they were meant to be,” said Jacque. “And that is still not a reality in our nation or in our world.”