It is nearly impossible to talk about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. without referencing his iconic 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech in which he said his dream was “deeply rooted in the American Dream.”
Our America is founded on the belief that every American should be able to achieve the American Dream. But what exactly is it? Most people think it is about social mobility, the promise that anyone can come to America and have a better life and that their children will do even better.
But originally the term “The American Dream,” which didn’t emerge until early in the last century, had nothing to do with that. As professor and author Sarah Churchwell, writes:
The first voices to speak of the “American dream” used it not as a promise, or a guarantee, but as an exhortation, urging all Americans to do better, to be fairer, to combat bigotry and inequality, to keep striving for a republic of equals. That is the American dream we need to revive: the dream of a social order defined by the American creed, a belief in the United States of America as a government whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic.
Churchwell believes that is how King thought of the American Dream when he spoke on the National Mall in August 1963:
I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…’
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Today there is no single definition of the American Dream. We each define it for ourselves.
My grandfather, Joe Martines, born north of Santa Fe, New Mexico the year after the territory became the 47th state in 1912, embodies what the American Dream means to me. A descendant of early Spanish explorers and Native Americans, my grandfather and his family left their tiny farming village during the Great Depression in search of a better life. They went north to Salt Lake City to work in the nearby copper mines. In time, my grandfather, who spoke only broken English, trained as a welder, bought a home, and raised a family, not in great wealth, but far above the poverty he was born into.
According to my father, my Grandpa Joe never missed a day of work, and earned a reputation as the hardest worker on every job he had. When introduced to a religion that wouldn’t allow him to fly a flag, he said, “I cannot be a part of any religion that denies me my right as an American to fly the flag.” My Grandpa Joe always considered himself an American first and rejected the label Mexican-American. He passed on his patriotism to my father who earned an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy and served in uniform for more than 30 years.
To me, the American Dream is about choosing your path, working hard, and showing gratitude for everything you have.
