12 Geniuses Leadership Moment - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Have you ever had someone tell you about their hopes and dreams? Can you remember the passion in their eyes? Can you remember the conviction in their voice? This is the story of a dream and, more importantly, the vision of that dreamer.

Fifty-six years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of the most important speeches in the history of the United States…and it almost didn’t happen. That’s not completely true. It almost didn’t happen in the way we know it.

People came from every corner of the country. Many rode buses, hitchhikers got rides from strangers, stars from Hollywood flew in for the event. More than 200,000 assembled for the March on Washington. They were there to support the fight for civil and economic rights for African Americans. The fight had taken place for years in cities throughout the south. When the fight finally came to the nation’s capital, the most prominent civil rights leader, this 34-year-old preacher from Atlanta, delivered the closing remarks.

Here is the little-known secret about that speech. For most of it, Dr. King was ordinary. He was somber. He spoke of the past. He preached. He scolded the powers in America. The crowd that had traveled so far and waited so long to hear him grew restless.

But then a voice cried out. A friend of Dr. King shouted out “Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!”

The audience wanted more than the prepared remarks. They wanted to be inspired by their leader’s vision. They wanted to feel his determination. They wanted the challenge of the situation to be addressed and to know that they would not walk alone in the valley of darkness, but that Dr. King and his lieutenants would lead the way.

Instead of returning to his notes on the podium, his eyes scanned the historic crowd, he seemed to grow taller right there on stage, his voice emanated with passion. The words poured from his heart. He electrified the audience with his vision…his vision for his followers and for his country. It was impossible for anyone watching to question why they were fighting.

On that August day in 1963, on perhaps the biggest stage this country had ever seen, a voice from the crowd, a deviation from the script, and a man with a dream created a vision that propelled a movement.

“I have a dream!” Yes, you did, Dr. King. And millions thank you for that dream and for that vision.

This is the final Leadership Moment of the year. We hope you have enjoyed these 12 stories. To listen to the Dr. King story as a podcast, please go here. To subscribe and be notified when new episodes of 12 Geniuses are released, please go to the 12 Geniuses website to subscribe.

Last week's Leadership Moment profiled Doug Lennick. He has dedicated his life to the development of leaders all around the world. You can read his story here.

Season Two of the podcast begins September 9th, 2019. You can find interviews with bestselling author Daniel Pink, hip hop legend Brother Ali, Hockey Hall of Famer Lou Nanne, and nine other creators and innovators. 

Season Three of the podcast explores the future with Krista Tippett, Gino Wickman, Master Gunnery Sergeant Scott Stalker, Cecily Sommers, Dr. Anita Sengupta, and others.