"I have a Dream" Speech Anniversary

This past Saturday was the 47th Anniversary of one of the best (if not the best) speech in American history—“I Have A Dream” by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King gave the speech to 200,000 people on the National Mall on August 28, 1963. The speech and march were designed to rally a country mired in the darkest racism and put pressure on President Kennedy to become more aggressive on guaranteeing all people their constitutional rights.

Many people know the above speech but did you know that Dr. King also spoke about the importance of health care access?

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” — Martin Luther King Jr. in a speech to the Medical Committee for Human Rights, 1966.

A recipient of the national Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger Award in 1966 for his work in supporting family planning, Dr. King recognized the tragedy of people being denied health care because of lack of ability to pay. At Planned Parenthood Delaware, we honor Dr. King this day and all days for his amazing contributions to this country. And, we remain committed to his vision that all people deserve health care—regardless of their ability to pay.

A few words from a long time Planned Parenthood intern

I first started volunteering at Planned Parenthood about two summers ago. I, like many PP volunteers before me, was an escort. It gave me something to do on Friday mornings and I could help women. Of course, it also involves being yelled at by rude protesters with medically inaccurate signs and questionable ethics but that’s fine with me. They have no right to dictate other people’s reproductive rights or tell me how to spend a Friday morning.

Needless to say, I kept coming back The people were nice, and the work was meaningful, and, o yeah, I minor in The Study of Women and Gender in college.

I jumped at the opportunity to officially intern with Planned Parenthood this summer. It’s been amazing. I’ve been working in the Public Affairs Office, which means law. Local law. Federal law. All law almost all of the time. Most people would find this boring. I, on the other hand, am a Government major and self-proclaimed government nerd. I love it. I love the legal analysis. I love tracking down old Attorney General Opinions. I love lobby days. But mostly, I love the people I work with.

I’ve had the best boss in the world for the past three months. Incredibly smart, and never underestimated my ability to get things done; something I need occasionally. I’m reminded of something a client told me once when I first started volunteering. As I walked her into the clinic, through the noise of the protesters’ yelling, she told me that she didn’t even need to come into PP because she could afford to go someplace else. But she braved the protests because the people at PP were so nice to her.

Planned Parenthood does some great work for the people of Delaware who can’t afford the high cost of health care, or need to their privacy rights protected. But it doesn’t hurt that the people are wonderful, and they are what keep me and the clients coming back.