"Life is just a minute only sixty seconds in it, forced upon you, can‘t refuse it. Didn‘t seek it, didn‘t choose it, but It‘s up to you to use it. You must suffer if you lose it, give an account if you abuse it, just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it." — Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

I have begun every speech this way since discovering this quote a few years ago. Sometimes I say it out loud but most times I say it to myself just before starting so that I can be grounded to the task. I have always thought there to be great power in unlocking the meaning behind someone’s quote as though I were a detective trying to unlock the mystery behind the words. Unlocking the mystery behind and between the words is where the quote’s true inspiration lies.

What was Dr. Mays really trying to communicate to the graduating class of Morehouse College? Perhaps, in calculating the meaning of our lives he’s saying that life is short, we don’t always appear to be the architects of our lives, sometimes life chooses us. If that is the case, what are you going to do with your life? There are consequences for every choice we make. Life is but a minute, when we compare it to other things like the time needed to change coal into a diamond. Human life is small in comparison. But what we do in that minute, in that life, can last forever. As mentor to Dr. King, Dr. Mays must have communicated that same message very well. Here we are years later, after his death, on the day of his birth, 78 years strong, we continue to recognize, acknowledge, celebrate and commemorate the life of a great man. On this his born day, even here in Canada, in Ottawa, we are moved and influenced by the man, his vision for the world, and the legacy of his contribution.

From the King Memorial website it says: “Dr. King is remembered as a great orator whose impact on the nation came from the eloquence and inspirational quality of his words. His speeches, sermons and public addresses melded themes of democracy deeply embedded in the American conscience, and reinvigorated these messages with clear and insightful reflections on the true meaning of justice and equality”. For the life that ended too soon, some would say, he continues to be a constant reminder to us of what we are able to achieve and that nothing can stop us if we are just willing to mobilize ourselves to action, to greatness

Life is not all biscuits and gravy but I am not here to reflect on the negative. I am here to reflect on what is the potential in all of us to be our visions fulfilled. While listening to National Public radio, the announcer helped listeners refocus their attention to a small number of things we should be celebrating instead of constantly dwelling in all of the things we have yet to accomplish. He offered the following examples: there are more black engineers working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, than there are blacks playing in the three major sports of North America; in fact, the last space shuttle mission had two black astronauts perform the most dangerous work of any previous space shuttle mission (we sending homies to space), there are more black physicians and black lawyers then ever before; in both the United States and Canada the majority of black people live in the middle class; there are more blacks with post-secondary educations than ever before in America’s history; no other ethnic group has made more progress in the last 100 years. We have accomplished a lot. The universe continues to conspire to bless us with a sea of dedicated men and women, boys and girls, people of every race, creed and colour who put themselves out there, in positive and productive ways, to ensure the prosperity of the community from a grassroots level.

Over the holiday break, I spent two weeks in the other nation’s capital, Washington DC. I went to school there so it’s like a second home. I went with my niece to the Smithsonian museum of Natural History in order to help her with a project for her grade nine English class (we got an “A” by the way). While in that area of the city we decided to make a stop to see the site for the King Memorial. Nestled between the Jefferson and Roosevelt Memorials, the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial site will be a representation for all to see of what is possible when you are willing to step into your vision. He is the second non-President to have a national monument. His national holiday is only the fourth in honour of an individual and it is the only holiday on the American calendar dedicated to someone of colour. Dr. King has been recognized as the third greatest American. While standing there I couldn’t help but weep. At first it was slow and then tears began to flow freely. When my niece asked me why I was crying saying, “Auntie, I thought this was supposed to be something positive.” In that moment I had to question what I was feeling. I remember on November 16th, 2006 watching the groundbreaking ceremony on television and listening to the live coverage of the event on radio. Many of the participants wept that day too. Andrew Young was so overcome with emotion; he had to be assisted by long time friend Jesse Jackson. In that moment I felt all of the sacrifice, the blood, the sweat, and the tears that went into every moment of every day that Dr. King lead the way when it was not easy to dream let alone think that you were making a difference. I felt proud. Proud to be a small part of what he must have been thinking when he deviated from his original text that day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke the words from his heart that we now know so well.

We have done a lot to be that dream of Dr. King and we can not afford to rest now if we are to have any chance to impact the future of the generations to come. It starts with a dream. Once we speak the dream, it is given life. Once it has life, it begins to grow and with the right nutrients, it can grow strong. Once it is strong it can face all challenges. Once it’s real we can share it with others. Once we share it with others it can motivate and inspire those people to give birth to their own visions. It would then become the DNA for all things and that’s when the dream has true power. It is no longer the same but more like the anchor that keeps us deeply rooted in an understanding of who we BE as a people. We are Kings and Queens who have done more than merely survive the greatest tests in human history. We have thrived and we continue to do so because it is our destiny to do so. It’s in our being, part of every fiber, the core and we have no choice but to listen if we too are going to impart that legacy to our children. We are not living in the shadow of his dream but in the comfort and embrace of it. We, standing here today, in this moment, in this time are Dr. King’s vision fulfilled.

Dr. King once gave a sermon about the meaning of greatness. He said that if you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be remembered, wonderful. The greatest amongst us is the person who serves their community. With this definition of greatness, everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don’t need to know about Aristotle or Plato to serve. You merely need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love and you too will be great. As we moved forward into Black History month with the theme put forward by Black History Ottawa of “Every Child is Sacred”, we acknowledge with the support of the community that there is no greater gift we can give our children. Let’s give them every opportunity to dream. Let’s feed those dreams with the most fulfilling of experiences so that they may be nourished and grow strong. Let’s give our children the freedom to be their dreams so they too can be their visions fulfilled. Our greatness will shine through because of the strong foundation we have provided for them. They too will know the true meaning of service.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." — Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.