Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech still inspiring students

Dream being passed on to another generation

SAN ANTONIO – Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of hundreds of thousands on the mall in Washington D.C. and delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. 

Half a century later, teachers in San Antonio at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy are keeping the dream alive for the next generation.

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Luis Sifuentes, a seventh-grade teacher, opened his class with a news clip about the speech.

"We have an important role in our community to educate them about Dr. Kings' message and that dream is still alive today," Sifuentes said.

The students also know the importance of those words.

"It means Martin Luther King thought about other people in this great nation," said Neal Burford, a seventh-grader.

"He did a lot for us to be here all together," said student Sylvia Ramos.

Kings' dream has also served as an inspiration for the students' dreams.

"My dream is to become a famous artist," Burford said.

"(My dream) is to be a singer or artist," Ramos said.

Part of Sifuentes' class was to teach the kids how to obtain their dream and how hard it could be. 

He assigned them a career with a salary and made them put together a monthly budget, including needs and wants.

"If they can't afford the things they want right now, then that means they need to go to college and get a good job so that one day they can afford those things," Sifuentes said.

Learning what it takes to reach that dream is all part of the process, he said.

"This gives them opportunity to dream larger today then ... tomorrow, dream into the future," Sifuentes said.

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About the Author:

David Sears, a native San Antonian, has been at KSAT for more than 20 years.