As yet, another King celebration comes to a close. My mind is filled with ever increasing uncertainty of what it all means. It was only eight years ago that we of the Black community, gathered in awe, and unabated reverence, believing that Dr. Martin Luther’s King dream of Black acceptance and equality had been achieved as we watched the election of the first man of color to the office of President of the United States. We believed, many of us, that we had arrived. Through those tears of promise we watched as everything we had labored for, the simple recognition of our humanity, had come to past. The future seemed brighter than it ever had and the Dream spoken by our recognized “prince of peace” appeared to materialize before our faces. Eight years removed from that glorious day, our days appear to be less than stellar and our future as a community, as a people, seems to languish in doubt. When the world discusses the great sacrifice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , we seem to paint a very monolithic picture of his entire legacy, summing it up in one grand sound bite of perhaps the most indelible speeches in American history; in human history for that matter. Complex to say the least, optimistic by far, Dr. King’s vision has been reduced to a very misquoted and misconstrued “dream.” We humor ourselves with the quick phrasing of this masterpiece but hold no requirement of its ultimate understanding. We can quote it; well in part. But I suggest we know no more about it than the base principles of quantum physics. It soothes our collective guilty conscious to be able to shout,” Dr. King had a dream,” because doing so gives us the rationale to hold no one, particularly ourselves, accountable for its fulfillment. The proof, as “they” say, is in the pudding. Look throughout this often termed great society and we can see plainly that as much as we want to believe we are closer, an unspeakable gulf remains. And it is this exact same gulf over which Dr. King extended his hand in the name of brotherhood. But there was no one there to extend their hand in return. As a matter of fact it was the very society that now “celebrates” him (it wasn’t without years of protest, opposition, and even the breaking of the law {the State of Arizona}) that struck him down. Today this the 16th day of January, 2017, as we sit on the precipice of a new era in American politics, we the Black community are being forced to awaken to the realization that, “No we have not arrived!” In addition to this sobering, and often time frightening revelation, we are beginning to ponder the idea, or speak of the concern, that we may never reach it. I, being an eternal optimistic realist, postulate, that where I am no less moved by the majesty of the words of one of my greatest for-bearers, I must consider that we will never ever realize his dream. This idea goes unspoken yet it is somehow understood by all of us. It is absolutely horrifying for us to ever attempt to ponder it less we fall into bedlam and utter revolution. Because where there is hopelessness there is unrest. Now I don’t suggest that our community become possessed by an idea of bleakness but that we breed a new hope; that we consider a new objective. What today is our vision for ourselves? I ask particularly,” What do we need exclusively, independently, from each other?” What if little black boys never join hands with little white boys at the table of brotherhood what will we then do? Will we languish in defeat? Or will we understand forthwith that the ultimate change occurs within ourselves. The only person, or people, that we can change are ourselves. It is the others’ obligation to change themselves; that is not our duty. And for us to wait for others to change can without doubt breed a cost too great for us to bare. We will pay for it with a loss of time, and will, and ultimately our very existence as a people will be in jeopardy. Here’s a vision that not only is attainable but it is one that we need now more than ever,” a dream where little black boys join hands with other little black boys, and little black girls with other little black girls, and black fathers with black mothers and black mothers with black fathers,” at the table of family and nationhood while holding each other close in order to validate, and encourage, and to love one another. We as a community, a family, need such a reality like never before, as we have witnessed that old beast, that ancient enemy of racism/white supremacy, has yet to falter but has metamorphosed into an even greater foe. Such a vision is not in opposition to the dream of the great Dr. Martin Luther King. In fact his dream was predicated on the fact, that in his day our families were united in facing a common adversary, therefore we could afford to, then, reach across the aisle to those, our would be oppressors. But today is replete with differing times and grander and more extreme challenges. Today the enemy has seemed to infect us down to our very soul with its venom. And therefore it becomes necessary that we dress our wound before applying our precious time and genius minds to the affliction of others. This is the law of self-preservation that all beings under God’s creation practice. Why not us family! Again this is no indictment of King’s vision especially when the promotion of his vision is incomplete to say the least. The public speaks vigorously of King’s Dream which only gives a screenshot of the complexity of the genius that was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The speech that we fancy as our “defacto” pledge of human equality occurred in 1963 a full 5 years before King was met with a conspiratorial assassin’s bullet. It is well documented that before his death in 1968 even King himself began to doubt the direction in which he helped to steer the Black community. He has been quoted as saying that,” he believed that he integrated our people into a burning house.” The implications of such a statement are both clear and ominous. And today that assertion seems terribly prophetic. Does America face a future of fire literal or otherwise? If this last presidential election is any indication some of us are beginning to notice the smoke. And where there’s smoke there’s fire. This isn’t to frighten or alarm but to prepare. What if the problems we face today as a community stem directly from our attempts to integrate into mainstream white society, what will we do then? Will we make real the notion that,” insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results?” Or will we gather our family and escape the flames? Again I have no issue with dreams I am a dreamer myself. I am an idealist by far. But anchoring my childlike optimism, and bohemian type ideals, is a heavy dose of reality. We as a people have been hoping and praying, wishing, and dreaming for far too long. Will we ever wake up? Or will another calendar year pass while we continue to hit the snooze button refusing to shake off yesterday’s sleep and get to the business of being awake. The alarm is sounding….RING! RING!! RING!!!