Portrait in Hate

PORTRAIT IN HATE

By A. Garcia-Wiltse

On August 28, 1963, some 60 years ago, America and the world heard four simple words that changed the course of history – “I have a dream . . . .”  They were words that unveiled a picture of a nation awakening to the clarity and reality of social, political and racial injustice.  It was a moment in time that revealed the cobwebs, the dankness, and the malodorous smell of apathy and abhorrence, that had long infested a nation, and infected the very heart and soul of its existence, of its being.  On August 28, 1963, a man – a black man -- torn down the shroud that covered a portrait in hate -- revealing the ugly face of America for the world to see, and for Americans to finally confront.

In one of the most iconic speeches in American history, Americans and the world, heard a call for equality and freedom, in a nation founded on ideals of justice and equality.  One man had the audacity to share his dream with his fellow Americans and with the world.  One man stood alone before the world.  An ordinary man.  An imperfect man.  But a man with a dream.  A simple dream of justice and of equality – the very fabric of a republic and a democracy that was envisioned long before by men and women seeking to cast off the shackles of discrimination, inequity, and servitude.  They were white men and women then.  Now, they are black, brown, yellow, and every hue in between.

One man.  One speech.  One moment in time.  And the world saw, listened, and heard the very instant one dream became millions of dreams seeking to be set free.  And America and the world changed.  The portrait of hate no longer frightening.  No longer intimidating.  But still there, hanging in plain sight.  But only as a reminder -- an ugly vestige of what once was, but also of could again be. 

Today, 60 years later, almost to the day, a new portrait in hate has emerged.  It is a mugshot of one man -- sullen, strawberry blond, and scowling at the world.  An ugly American.  Again, rearing its ugly head, and attempting to intimidate, frighten and coerce a nation and the world, into surrender and submission.  A new portrait in hate, for a new generation of disillusioned and weak-minded Americans who unable to dream, but instead are lost in a nightmare of their own creation.

But still, today the words of August 28, 1963, ring loud and clear.  “I have a dream . . . .”  America has a dream.  America is a living dream of hope, of inspiration, and of anticipation.  And nowhere in that dream is there a portrait in hate, nor a mugshot in shame.

Words and actions that bring to life hope and aspirations is what strengthens and bolsters the struggles, the efforts, and the labors of true American patriots.  And on August 28, 1963, America saw and heard an American patriot – a Black American patriot -- bring America back onto the path of justice and equality for all, regardless of color, creed, race, or sexual orientation.  It was a moment that history has already carved into stone. 

A portrait in hate, or a mugshot in shame – no place in a dream that is America.