How many millions of children who were hurt or neglected themselves grow up hopeless, hate-filled, and continue the cycle of hurting others? All children deserve to be allowed and encouraged to dream by the adults around them in their homes, schools, and communities.

Today, too many would-be movement leaders simply want to be Dr. King or Mrs. Rosa Parks: they want the glory and privilege of leadership without the burdens or sacrifice and sustained hard work. Movements are not built from the top down by powerful leaders but percolate from the bottom up from people who share common grievances.

Today, April 4th, 2012, marks the 44th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. It's a good time to reflect on the state of not only Dr. King's dream, but the American dream at large.

The best-known parts of "I Have A Dream" have entered into a sort of comfortable familiarity, which allows everyone to view them without being challenged by the more pointed things Dr. King had to say that day.

Last week, a Defense Department official made a rather startling statement, to the effect that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have supported America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.Let's see what King really would have said.

Why, politically, did we come out in record numbers for Barack Obama, then instantly return to apathy? Why do we remain suspended in a state of arrested development, believing that a dynamic leader will be our salvation?

The oversimplification of Black History Month is akin to the practice of making one's position on the invasion and occupation of the sovereign nation of Iraq fit within the confines of a bumper sticker.

In commemoration of the legacy of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, we must now call upon the children and grandchildren of that grand alliance to defeat al Qaeda.

Today, on the anniversary of the killing of Dr. King, America seems to have developed an incurable addiction for the ownership and use of guns. Congress should collectively hold its head in shame. How many more gun killings have to occur before we say, enough is enough?