Miami Lakes Woman Remembers ‘I Have A Dream' Speech 50 Years Ago

Miami Lakes resident Dr. Shirley Johnson was there with her most vivid memory being all of the people.

Wednesday marks the 50-year anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Miami Lakes resident Dr. Shirley Johnson was there, with her most vivid memory being all of the people.

“You could just feel the energy around, not screaming, not hollering, but an atmosphere of togetherness," she said.

Johnson met Dr. King when she was growing up in Jackson, Miss., which was a segregated in the deep South.

Johson was very involved in the movement for racial equality. At 10 years old she was active in her NAACP chapter. She was arrested as a teenager after taking part in one of many protests.

Johnson talked about her mission to save the world and spoke of the lense through which she saw America back then.

“Those lense were lense of hope, lense of changing the country and lense making myself visible enough to all I could as a human being to bring the messages back,” she said.

Johnson was back at the National Mall last Saturday celebrating Dr. King’s famous speech.

While her memory from 50 years ago was all of the people, this time it was the families.

“I felt very strongly that they were giving a message to the next generation that is so very much needed," she said.

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