As we often say in the context of battlefield sacrifice, freedom is not free.

The same is true of those who gave their lives in the struggle for civil rights, a number that included Dr. King – who died a violent death that contrasted with the principle of nonviolence to which he dedicated his life.  50 years after the March on Washington, many members of the generation that led the Civil Rights Movement have been silenced by time.  It is for us, the living, to preserve the memories of these great figures and great deeds as we each try in our own modest way to make the dream come true.