To Dream

I have been called a “dreamer.” But that often carried a negative connotation by the people that label me as such. I preferred to view myself in the context of what Harriet Tubman said about the dreamer, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

On the third Monday in January the United States celebrates and commemorates the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.; a man who dreamed one of the biggest [and some may say audacious] dreams of all, an integrated and unified America.

For those who have never seen or read Dr. King’s 1963 speech, the entirety is below.



For those in the cycling community, two years ago, NPR’s Tony Cox spoke with pro cycling writer Patrick Sharp about why there are so few blacks in professional cycling.

The issue seems to perpetuate today, and primarily for the same reasons that Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing; shown winning the 2007 CSC Invitational) and former US Cycling President, Mike Fraysse, stated in a 2005 interview (excerpt below) with the LA Times, J. Michael Kennedy. To my recollection, Bahati is the only African-American currently in the professional peloton.

"It's the money, and we're not exposed to it," he [Bahati] said. "If it were a household sport, it would be different."

"It's hugely expensive," he said. "If you join a basketball league in the inner city, you pay $50 and you might even get shoes."

Mike Fraysse, past president of the U.S. Cycling Federation, said there is a large number of black cyclists but that most of them come from countries where the sport is more popular.

"But if you go to the weekend races in [New York's] Central Park, maybe 20% of the riders will be black," he said. "That's because there's lots of immigrants."

Photo: Steve Klein