What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream means to me
Nearly a year and a half after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I have a dream speech, I was born in Hampton, Virginia to young parents who started out in South Carolina living in houses with no bathrooms. They used outhouses. After migrating to the Hampton area, they graduated from a segregated Black public high school.
My dad had a job at the shipyard, the main employer in the area and my mom worked in the laundry room of a hospital. As happens, my dad was laid off. With a wife and infant, my teenage dad chose to enlist in the U.S. Army despite the ongoing Vietnam War. That choice would lead to a career spanning 22 years until his retirement as a chief warrant officer.
It also provided his son, opportunities to learn and benefit from the teachings of MLK and other civil rights leaders.
I grew up an Army brat living around the U.S. and abroad with opportunities to attend schools near military installations. While attending public middle and high school in Alabama, I played sports and participated in other activities. I did well academically and was blessed to have teammates and coaches who encouraged me to consider college.
One teacher, a retired colonel, pulled me aside to talk about service academies and ROTC. I included them in my applications and was accepted into West Point, and the Naval Academy, among other great colleges. I chose the Naval Academy sight unseen, as my parents could not afford college tours. By attending the Naval Academy, I would become a naval officer, get a degree and get to see the world while serving.
Upon arriving at the Naval Academy I realized how much I hadn’t been exposed to both socially and academically. I also realized the prospects in front of me that my parents and many others had never known. I put in a significant amount of time and effort to graduate, and I consider myself blessed for the privilege of experiencing this incredible journey.
I was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a logistics officer deploying to the Middle East, participating in embassy evacuations in Liberia and supporting the Reserve Marine Air Wing during the Gulf War.
Upon leaving active duty, I transitioned to the field of implantable pacemakers and defibrillators. I have been able to serve patients and physicians for the majority of my nonmilitary working career. I’ve had the opportunity to successfully lead teams while managing both the clinical and business side of working with patients and customers. I created and led programs to increase minority and female access to the medical device field. I accomplished this by incorporating training, mentoring and access to roles which facilitated a pathway to success in their current positions and higher-level roles.
On this journey with me is my wife of 30 years, who has blessed me with four magnificent children. Because my wife’s parents have the same foundation as mine, one of hard work, perseverance and community, we have raised our children in the church instilling purpose, faith, and civic pride.
I am the beneficiary Dr. King’s dream. It began with the blessings of my parents. It flourished through my travels as a young child and the God-sent mentors to show me a path. It thrived in me as a young man in the Naval Academy. It fulfilled me as a husband and father. It drives me as man who has seen struggles, sacrifice, opportunities and success.
Today, it inspires me to use what I have learned to help others move beyond any circumstance in every neighborhood. This is why I am driven today to say, with your help, together, we will make it happen in our community. Every man and woman’s story deserves a happy ending.