by Carol G

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: September 14, 2010

Martin Luther King's inspiration was contagious. An indelible vision of the famous "I Had a Dream'" speech will never go away. He was an icon in those days. Personal impressions from childhood gave me the awareness of what he was up against.

The impression of his bravery in leading the marches lingers on. Confrontations with police and their billy clubs show awesome courage that his followers derived from his inspiration.

I witnessed disturbing racial incidents from the days of living in the deep south as a young girl. I still remember the hatefulness of white against black This most upsetting imagery stays with me to this day.

From this contrast, the impression of Martin Luther King's inspiration rises like a phoenix from out of the ashes.

There are still impressions left by scenarios where my sister and I were admonished for going to the segregated drinking fountains. In our innocence we thought these low slung drinking fountains were for kids. That was before a southern woman scolded us saying not to drink out of the "Negro" fountains.

Segregated schools and class pictures of all white kids look strange nowadays. Martin Luther King's inspiration has changed all of that.

We lived down south for three years. Went in the restaurants where blacks were forbidden to go. Traveled on the buses as Rosa Parks had done in her day.

These impressions are dimmed when I can see that Martin Luther's cause left an imprint. Though it took many years, the results have come to fruition. The inspiration that came from a divine source has changed an entire country.

When we returned to our hometown up north, Dad took us to the shoe store. They had the cute little benches for kids in the children's shoe section.

The whole segregation issue that we left behind was so bizaare. We didn't know if it had spread to the northern states.

We wondered if it was o.k. to sit in the little booths. We thought maybe this was a phenomenon equivalent to the drinking fountains in the south.

When in college, I gave a black friend named Willie a ride home. Tall and prominent in the car seat, he was also sporting an afro. In a traffic jam, we were accosted by another driver.

"You think you get to cut me off just because you got that guy with you."

Willie said, "Just ignore it."

My personal impression is how Martin Luther lives on in the reality of our nation electing a black president. Martin Luther's inspiration lives in the realm of reality now.

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