“I Have a Dream” Speech and Healthcare Disparities

By John Graham

August 28th, 2013

I love hearing again and again Martin Luther King, Jr. say those famous words “I have a dream.”  And, don’t we all?  The last words of his speech were:  “When we allow freedom to ring — when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last, great God almighty, we are free at last.”

Truly, stirring words.  Perhaps the most stirring words of our generation.  And, 50 years after that speech we have come a long way, but have we arrived at equality?  Sadly, we have not.

On September 20, 2013, the Institute for Spirituality and Health will host an event from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Methodist church entitled “Health Disparities in Houston.”   The subtitle for the half-day conference is:  “Examining the Moral and Ethical Treatment of Human Beings.”

Speakers for the event are blue-ribbon:  Dr. Stephen Klineberg, Rice University’s expert on Houston Demographics; Dr. Lovell Jones, Director, The Dorothy I. Height Center for Health Equity and Evaluation Research (DH-CHEER); Dr. Gail Bray, Executive Director of Episcopal Health Charities; and, the Reverend Bill Lawson and Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza.  Each speaker will give a 30 minute presentation followed by a question and answer panel discussion.  You may register here.

We are hosting this event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s great speech and to use the occasion to bring to our conscious awareness that the battle is not over, that there is much more work to be done.

I encourage everyone to be present for this special commemorative event and I hope to see you there.