Little more than 50 years back on a Southern summer day of 11th June 1963 not far from where I live, the then Governor of Alabama George Wallace tried to block two black students from integrating into the University of Alabama. Only a month before in May 1963 he famously said "Segregation then, segregation now and segregation forever".
George Wallace died unsung but Martin Luther King's Civil Rights movement gained steam. Can't stop admiring this man's charisma and leadership. It's said that those who teach leadership quality at Harvard's Business School often allude "Leaders are born, can never be made". It was followed by his iconic speech " I have a Dream when a man will be judged not by the color of his skin but by content of his character." He went on further " I have a dream when on the Red Hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and former slave owners will be able to seat down together in tables of brotherhood".
The rest we know is history. Martin Luther King never saw his dream come true during his life time but a few decades down the road it was realized. Not that racism has completely vanished from America but it has come a long was since, vindicated by Barack Obama being the first African-American President and already in the middle of his 2nd term. Happy birthday to the legend, who inspired beyond the boundaries of the land he was born.
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