“I have a dream”

Martin Luther King Jr.

REFLECTIONS. LESSONS.
VALUES.

Prepared by:
Kier Ocampo
MBA

Submitted to:
Dr. Leonarda R. Aguinalde
Professor
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Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have a Dream”

Moments that Stood Out

Stand at the Podium. The moment that Martin Luther King Jr. stood up in front of more

than 200, 000 people gave me the thoughts of being brave and bold, influential

Christian leader and a peacemaker.

He is brave and bold to stand and declare with reiteration the civil rights of many Black

Americans. As the history wrote, during his time there were several violations of rights

on the side of the Blacks. There were deprivation of voting rights; jobs are for White

Americans only; decent housing were being demanded by the Blacks because there

were no space for them; and other civil rights violation that was rampant during his time.

He is an influential Christian leader, he is a leader who follows the teachings of Jesus

Christ and despite of his religion he loved and fought for all Black Americans. He

disregarded the religion as a basis of freedom but regarded the Christianity as a basis

of his movements and idealism for the Blacks.

He is a peacemaker; the history cannot hide the fact that Martin Luther King is a maker

of peace. He is inspired by the non-violent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. 1 He used his

wisdom in delivering his speeches to millions of people. Bayard Rusting, veteran

African-American civil rights activist, became King’s first regular advisor on nonviolence

movement. There were also White American activists who advised King, Harris Wofford

and Glenn Smiley both Christian and studied Gandhi’s teachings.

Cheers and Claps of the Crowd. The claps and cheers of the thousand crowds during

the delivery of his speech caught my attention. For me once a person receives claps

and cheers from the crowd as he speaks it just mean that the person is making a big

difference. Cheers and claps is a positive sign of giving appreciation and respect to the

person standing and speaking.

Values/Emotions/Messages
1 Martin Luther King Jr. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
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MBA ADM_M005

Value 1: Stand up for what is right

Fighting using guns and swords with shields and tanks is no longer the solution in

achieving freedom. Our voice with the right tone and our pen with the right ink of

wisdom will lead us into a peaceful achievement of freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. used

his voice and pen in achieving equality for all the Americans regardless of skin colour.

Value 2: No one will be left behind

When Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the rights of the Blacks he included everyone not

only the Christians since he is Pastor. As he did the movement he makes sure that all

will receive the right amount of rights from the government.

According to the published article of Katie Morell, a freelance writer, she wrote that King

encouraged the community to be involved in Civil Rights Movement. 2

Value 3: Be Expert on the WHYs

Indeed when making things to work out as the head and the initiator we need to

understand and examine all the sides of the project. During the time of King he made

sure that he knows the WHYs of his movement. He made sure that the WHYs are clear

to his fellow movers. He made sure that everyone understands the reason of the

movement. Knowing the WHYs can give us the direction, a direction that will lead to

victory if we will follow the right way just like what he did. The direction may not be easy

but as long as we are on the right track nothing can defeats us.

Core Reflection

As I watch the video of Martin Luther King Jr. when he delivers his “I have a dream”

speech I didn’t have any surprising moment. King has been so popular since my

childhood days and I even had the opportunity to memorize and present his speech

during a school competition. His life is like an open book for me because it can be

searched using the internet. When I was working with IHG (InterContinental Hotels

2 Morell, K. (2012, January 16) 5 Leadership Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved from
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/5-leadership-lessons-from-martin-
luther-king-jr/
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Group) I learned that the place where he did the finishing touches of his “I have a

dream” speech was at one of the suites of the Willard InterContinental Hotel.

Martin Luther King Jr. is really one of the most famous people who ‘changed the world’

by fighting for justice and equality. He maybe 50 years six feet under the ground but his

contributions to the world especially to the lives of Black Americans will always be

cherished by the current citizen of the world and by the children of the next generations.

References:
Kier C. Ocampo 012018
MBA ADM_M005

Martin Luther King Jr. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.

Morell, K. (2012, January 16) 5 Leadership Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr.
Retrieved from https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-
business/openforum/articles/5-leadership-lessons-from-martin-luther-king-jr/