The year is 1966 in the land of the free.
And everything is nice and peachy.
All of the people are living on easy street.
They all own two story houses with central heating
and an in ground pool.
1966 is the year of the dragon.
And it seems also the year of the fool.
Because you would be foolish to think that all is well in
the american nation.
Racism is rife all over the country.
But most of the hate comes from the south.
Just because your skin is a darker colour you get treated
like a second class citizen.
Dr Martin Luther King said that he had a dream.
But already the people seem to have forgotten.
The white folks ride around in fancy cars.
While the negro’s still pick the cotton.
14 year old Calvin Jackson is a skinny little black kid.
Who lives in a small bungalow in a bad neighbourhood in
Mobile Alabama.
His clothes are clean but threadbare.
Five brothers have worn these same clothes.
Now it is Calvin’s turn.
Calvin is watching TV on a small black and white set with his mama
beside him.
A black man has been shot down for no apparent reason.
Except for the colour of his skin.
Another black man guilty of a trumped up crime.
Why does this shit have to happen all of the time?
As Calvin watches the news his shoulders start to slump
And his sense of worth crashes.
He cant watch no more.
So he goes outside to shoot some hoops with his brothers.
Calvin weaves and fakes past his brothers time and time again.
Scoring basket after basket .
After a half hour of humiliation Calvin’s brothers wander off
defeated.
Calvin puffs out his chest with pride.
And he dreams about playing in the NBA one day.
If only the white folks would just let him play.
At Calvin knows that he should and could be getting better grades
.He used to be an A grade student.
Now all he does is look out the classroom window.
Dreaming his dream.
Calvin knows that basketball is his only way out of the slums and
ghetto’s.
And into the big time.
Than he could buy his mama a nice house.
And get himself a brand new souped up car.
Dreaming your dream is good.
But it will only get you so far.
Calvin is dreaming the dream along with other millions of other
young people.
Everybody dreams foe a better life for themselves and family.
But Mobile Alabama along with towns and cities all over America.
Are full of discrimination and segregation.
Whites and blacks go to different schools and ride on separate bus’es.
All because some peoples skin has a darker hue.
Racism affects everybody ordinary people just like me and you.
America is the land of the great divide.
A country with very narrow minded views.
There is a big division between the haves and the have not’s.
Calvin knows that because he is black he will have to work twice as hard
as the white folks do.
If he wants to make it in this world.
But Calvin’s mind is full of hope and optimism
He is just dreaming his dream.
He would do anything that he can.
To try and be a better man.
Walking home from school a few weeks later.
Calvin comes across the local basketball courts.
He goes to walk right on by like he always has.
But this time he stops and has a seat on a bench.
He pretends to tie his shoe laces as he takes in the game.
One day all of the white homey’s will all know his name.
Just than the ball rolls over and stops at Calvin’s feet.
Calvin is stuck in two minds.
Should he just throw the ball back?
Or show all these white boys how to play?
Then the decision is taken out of his hands.
‘Come on nigger show us what you can do’
Calvin hates that word but he accepts the challenge with relish.
And for the next hour Calvin completely dominates his opponents.
He scores baskets at will running rings around his helpless foes.
The white boys are exhausted and call an end to the game.
Calvin starts to walk away than turns back ‘I am Calvin Jackson
remember my name’
At seventeen Calvin is already six foot tall
And for the last three years he has been his school’s MVP.
His exploits on the court hasn’t gone unnoticed at some of the more
prestigious schools.
After a practice Calvin is called into the coaches office.
He is told to take a seat.
And the coach gets right down to business ‘Calvin you are probably the best
player that this school has ever produced’
But if you want to achieve your dream you will have to move away from home’
And the only way to do this is to gain a full scholarship’
Calvin knows that he cant let this opportunity slip.
Calvin’s mind is racing he is thinking about being first draft pick in the NBA.
And playing in the olympic’s with the dream team
The coach is still talking ‘But to get a scholarship you will have to improve your grades’
‘At the moment your grades are very poor,so if you want to reach your goal’
‘You will really have to improve big time,do it now Calvin before it is too late’
‘Because if you don’t you will never ever get out of this state’
Calvin walks out of the door.
Will his dream be crushed before it has even started?
Or will Calvin hit the books and really knuckle down?
Well there really isn’t any choose so for twelve hours everyday Calvin
studies hard.
When he is not studying Calvin shoots 20 thousand hoops.
After a few hours of sleep Calvin wakes up and does it all again.
And even though it hurts it is a good pain.
Calvin has applied for scholarships at colleges in New York Washington
and Chicago.
But to achieve his goal his grades have to be 90% or better.
For over a week he sits for exam after exam.
Calvin knows that he has tried his best and that is all he can do.
Now all he can do is wait.
And rely on the hand of fate.
Back at home he can’t sit still waiting for the results to come back.
He paces back and forth day after day waiting for the postman.
Than one day the postie pushes a bulky package through the front door
slot.
Will the news be good or bad?
Calvin rips open the envelope as fast as he can and he has a quick read.
Than he does a little dance of jot?
92%.
A month later Calvin is accepted at Stanford college New York.
He is now one step closer to living his dream.
Playing in the NBA.
Now no one can get in his way.
It doesn’t matter if your skin is white black brown red or yellow
Everybody on this earth has a right to dream.
So dream all that you want
Because one day your dream might just come true.
THE END.
