I Have Dream... To One Day Have Dinner With You. by Tatiana

I Have Dream... To One Day Have Dinner With You. by Tatiana - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

Growing up an African-American in the "Land of The Free" is a statement often taken lightly. However, even as a child in this treacherous race it comes with great responsibility. For from a young age individuals that share my ethnicity struggle as where other races may pass with ease on this test we call life. But this struggle is nothing compared to what my ancestors went through. They literally slaved and were killed for the complexion of their pigment. Many of them just took it, some of them tried to prevail and failed, but one man in particular left an everlasting mark.
This man is Martin Luther King Jr. Growing up, I can't even be dishonest, I took it for granted. The day that marked his birth was just another day that I was work-free and had the opportunity to hang out with my friends. Yet, as I got older I realized... My friends' family had two parents instead of one. Their hair was straight as mine was curly. When they got into trouble at school it was handled in the classroom and didn't result in a call home. Their pigment was white. And I didn't want to believe that the sense of racism was true, until I was called a "Nigger" for the first time by a fellow student in elementary school.
My Mother was outraged. "We've fought too much for this!", I remember her saying. "Martin Luther didn't die for nothing." That last sentence stayed with me as I began to care who he was, what he'd done, and what he had to go through. The information I received has stuck with me. He marched where negroes at that time weren't allowed and did walk-outs and sit-ins for not only my ethnicity, but for all peoples. Without him I would have never been able to even be in the same facilities as my white friends. Education was going to be thrown out the door, but thanks to Martin Luther King Jr., I can now have my dream heard.
So, if I could have a dinner with any historical figure, I would be honored to share it with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Without him I can honestly say that I don't know where I would be. I have nothing but gratitude and love for him. I want to hear of all his great journeys and tell him myself how grateful I am for him. Not to mention, dinner would be on me.