“Let Freedom Ring”

Dear Nadine,
This is a very beautiful and generous gesture of respect for a man who is really a symbol of the struggle for a better and fairer world in the spirit of the Gospel. Nadine, every time I read something about you, really, my heart is full of some inexplicable happiness and satisfaction because still exist people like you on this planet!
Warm Regards,
Ivan

Dear Nadine,
Thank you very much for reminding us this historic event! Your initiative in Montreux is really great. It’s worth to be followed. I fully agree with you – Martin Luther King’s proclamation is absolutely relevant today. “Let Freedom Ring”!

Brilliant initiative, thanks for raising awareness and motivating us to commit!

Dear Nadine,

Great initiative! I live in a small village close to Fribourg. It would take more than two days to make this happen here close to mu home as well..our world need more initiatives like yours Nadine.

Warm regards,
Carl J. Bergström
CEO / Geschäftsführer
Learnia GmbH

Snow covered the streets of Washington DC in January 1977 as political veterans as well as novices like me shared taxi cabs with strangers who quickly became friends, toured the nation’s capital and celebrated what we considered a surprising victory for this former Georgia Governor with no experience in national politics. We were in Washington to celebrate the inauguration of Jimmy Carter to a four-year term as President of the United States of America. Madge Overhouse, the long-time director of the Democratic headquarters in San Jose where I was attending the University, accompanied me to the Lincoln Memorial at dawn to hear a talk by “Daddy” King, the father of slain civil rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. As we huddled in the cold and dark, Rev. King’s voice rang out as he said, “This is the place where my son stood when he told you he had a dream”. No one heard much of the remainder of his speech for everyone was sobbing at the loss of this hero who was, like the newly elected President, a native son.

William Woloschuk

Managing Principal, SCS Consulting, International

hi Nadine, This is not only an important tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but to all freedom loving people around the World. Democracy isn’t just a word we use without meaning..but a way of life to recognize all people regardless of their origin, religious beliefs, party affiliations or flag that they fly worldwide. It takes personal courage to standup for everyone’s rights as human beings when it’s easier to be silent and go with the flow which doesn’t improve the way we apply our freedom.

Having grown up in Switzerland, I really appreciate how significant it is for a Swiss city to acknowledge Dr. King in this way. Thank you so much for making it happen!!! Dr. King was a real revolutionary, and it’s great to recognize his achievement in this way as it acknowledges that he has and is benefitting all of humanity.

Nadine:

Did you know I once played touch football with Dr. King? It was in about 1967 at an Anti Vietnam War picnic on Long Island. I was 15 or 16 years old. My mother didn’t want me to go but I rode my bicycle there with some friends. Not a big group. We chose up sides. He was the quarterback on one team. I played interior line on the other team. I sacked him once. I felt bad, since he had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The thing I remember the most was that he was wearing brown shoes with a dark suit. I noticed that when I sheepishly leaned over to help him up after knocking him over. He smiled and laughed. In retrospect, it was especially funny since when playing touch football, the custom was to count out seconds before you rushed by counting “one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi” to make sure that you didn’t rush too quickly. That must have been the only time he did not get enough Mississippi.

I do not remember if he was a good football player. I was not.

I think the lesson to learn is that Dr. King was a regular guy who did extraordinary things. Everyone has within himself or herself the ability to change the world. You just have to try.

Excellent initiative by Nadine to celebrate the wonderful speech of King, already 50 years ago. Unfortunately racism exists everywhere still today. It always seems to me to be incongruous to judge a person simply on their colour. Having lived in multi-cultural environments all my life I never even observed the colour of my wife, even after a heated discussion of the role of Chinese investment in Africa. Her colour has nothing to do with any discussion including my own colour..which is pink by the way. Yet when I am with her in Africa, I do notice racism because of my pink skin which symbolises the repression by my country (UK) of so many countries and peoples in the past..but not my own father who fought fascism in the second world war so I could live, as I fortunately have, in peace. And when I go to my wifes’ country I am an immediate target by illiterate youngsters who carry an AK whatever it is. Is it because I am pink (well synonomous with white) or an infidel or both? I find such impertinence profoundly depressing. So for Africa, I have a dream that one day Africans will treat people as good or bad on the basis of their views not their colour. I have a dream that one day the power of education will turn even the most radical into human beings that will judge people by their deeds and not their association by colour to the misdeeds of their (or some of them at least) forefathers. I have a dream that infidels will be judged by their humanitarian instincts and not by assuming that the colour of their skin means they oppose peaceful thought processes of reasonable human beings. I have a dream that illiterate kids will not turn to AK47’s to kill infidels and blow themselves into smithereens through some misplaced hope of finding paradise. Happlily I have worked in over 120 countries around the world and have found that 95% of people from Kazakhstan to Colombia to Indonesia to Kenya etc etc are wonderful. I have a dream that the 5% will join the rest of us and seek peaceful co-existence while still being fierce in their arguments followed by an understanding and acceptance of differences……Finally I have a dream that an African King will surface even as the towering Mandela starts to fade…..so let us all dream and act for the good of all how impossible it sometimes seems.

What a perfect example to prove that wisdom stands the test of time. It’s amazing how Dr King’s words still seem so relevant across countries and decades. Technology may have hit exponential growth rates but our development in empathy and human compassion are langing behind and it is great people like him who made us leap forward. Unfortunately there are not as many such leaders as we need. Let us remember everything he stood for and each of us do our part. Thank you Nadine for reminding us.

Listen to his speech a few times today. Shared on my social channels. Had a mission going. What a wonderful day to reflect and give thanks.

Nadine – I am adding the link of John Hope Bryant and Ambassador Young on the Martin Bashir Show that is guest hosted by Joy-Ann Reid of the Grio. The interview includes expectations of President Obama and his speech in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the “I Have A Dream” speech, and the importance of jobs and class with the new racism being poverty. I encourage your readers to please watch this video. http://video.msnbc.msn.com/martin-bashir/52858722#52858722

Dear Nadine
Apologize for the late comment. Being a Washington metro area resident, unfortunately I was not in the district yesterday. Therefore unable to share in the experience of yesterday’s activities. Your email alerted me to the occasion. I thank you for your effort. In my humble opinion we(as a global community) need more Dr. King’s, the visionaries.
John

Nadine, thanks for the invitation on LinkedIn “Social Contract” group. Dr King was my first hero and his life inspired me to be a political and social activist in South Africa. Here is my dream.

I have a dream to build a kind and caring community of people committed to making a positive difference in the world.

Nelson Mandela said “Action without vision is only passing time. Vision without action is daydreaming. But vision with action can change the world.” With that in mind our dreams need to powered by action aligned to clear and inspiring vision, values and strategy.

My vision: To create a network of champions committed to making a positive difference on a global scale.

My Values (encapsulated in my philosophy): Enterprise with a social agenda, a mind for profit and a heart for community.

My strategy: To create city-wide networks that leverage a city’s wealth of resources for the greater good. Creating inspired solutions for global problems through intelligent design and simple application.

Last year I ran a pilot called Motivate Cape Town. It is currently offline as I sort out a few things but later this year I will launch the global plan. Who wants to play?

As executive producer of entertainment for the US Open I integrated a clip of “I have a dream” into our nightly performance of “America the Beautiful” in this instance by an 11 year old girl from Queens, which brought the stadium of 23,000 people to its feet.