“I have a dream too.”

Im Englischunterricht setzten sich die Schülerinnen und Schüler der Jahrgangsstufe 1/1 mit der Rede von Martin Luther King Jr. (28. August 1963), ein US-amerikanischer Baptistenpastor und Bürgerrechtler auseinander.

Er gilt als einer der herausragendsten Vertreter im gewaltfreien Kampf gegen Unterdrückung und soziale Ungerechtigkeit und war zwischen Mitte der 1950er und Mitte der 1960er Jahre der bekannteste Sprecher des Civil Rights Movement, der US-amerikanischen Bürgerrechtsbewegung der Afroamerikaner. Martin Luther Kings “I have a dream” Rede, mit mehr als 250.000 Zuschauern, ging in die Geschichte ein.

Die Schülerinnen und Schüler schrieben daraufhin ihre eigene “I have a dream” Rede. Die Ergebnisse waren beeindruckend. An den einzelnen Reden war deutlich erkennbar, dass die Jugendlichen sich intensiv mit der aktuellen politischen und gesellschaftlichen Situation befassen und sich durchaus Gedanken machen. Ein sehr gelungenes Beispiel von Leni Schmid findet ihr hier:

Dear guests,

Foremost, thank you for being here and paying attention to some of my thoughts. Also, I want to thank you for inviting me to talk here.

“We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will perish together as fools”.

Do you know this quote? It’s from one of the most important people in American history: Martin Luther King. He was one of the first people who bravely stood up for the rights of black people. The special thing about this is that King was black himself, and yet he had also received approval from his white fellow citizens. In his most famous speech, he often used the phrase “I have a dream”. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today.

But this is not about Martin Luther King’s dream, but about my dream. Because I have a dream too.

I have a dream that one day the nation will stand up for each other. Because in a world where everyone thinks of themselves, not everyone is thought of. When we think of all the oppressed people living in our society, we realize that they need our support and someone to stand up for them. We can only do this if we do not look away when we notice an unfairness.

I have a dream that everyone should be free to live their lives as they wish, without having to live in fear of being excluded. Here it does not matter what it is about: whether sexuality, profession, hobbies. Everyone should be allowed to live out what they want, as long as they do not harm anyone else.

I have a dream that exactly this freedom to live out what one wants is tolerated by all people. No bad blood should separate people from each other. Also, other views and opinions must be understood and accepted. That is the most important aspect, without that a harmonic living together can’t work.

These are my hopes and my faith. I know that it is more an utopia than actual reality. However, I also know that we can all do better. Even small steps make a big difference. So let’s start today by treating others with respect and standing up for each other.

Thank you for your attention.

Leni Schmid (J1/1), 03/2022

16. März 2022