I was four months and one day shy of my 12th birthday when my Aunt Margaret urged me to listen to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Of course, neither she nor I knew at the time the speech would be known as “I Have A Dream.” Aunt Margaret was watching the Aug. 28, 1963, March On Washington event on the television. When King strode to the podium, she made extra sure I was paying attention.

Normally on a summer day, I’d have been outdoors romping with neighborhood kids playing tag, shooting marbles or just getting into assorted mischief. I have no idea why I was indoors that particular day.