Guest Opinion | Councilmember Tyron Hampton: Remembering Dr. King

Dear First District Neighbors & Friends:

As Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaches, I find myself reflecting on the immense love that this remarkable man embodied. His dedication to understanding diverse perspectives was profound; he never hastily formed judgments but instead labored relentlessly to effect positive change.

By inspiring transformation in people and encouraging them to embrace empathy, we can cultivate genuine understanding. Each year around this time, I often revisit his sermons and speeches, which serve as a poignant reminder of the importance of open dialogue, even amidst differing viewpoints.

Diverse perspectives should not silence us. Dr. King forged a strong community and engaged in meaningful debates, even with his closest allies. These discussions were pivotal in driving collaborative efforts to revise policies and establish laws that served the greater good. It was through these exchanges that Dr. King’s core supporters were able to connect and address the needs of all.

Today, while browsing through some of his powerful speeches, I stumbled upon one of my favorites: “Life’s Blueprint.”

This speech prompted me to contemplate the blueprint necessary for our community’s restoration.

As we rise from the challenges we face, we must adhere to a guiding blueprint, just as Dr. King emphasized. A solid foundation is essential before we can construct anything meaningful. This foundation lies in the people who inhabit our community—this is not merely my opinion; it is a truth I firmly believe. Therefore, as we navigate this journey, our primary focus should be on how to retain and nurture our residents.

At the same time, we must recognize the reality that some individuals, particularly the elderly, may lack the energy or time to engage in rebuilding efforts. Their stories and experiences are invaluable and must be shared repeatedly to resonate with our youth and future generations. We should also reach out to those who have moved away, inviting them to return and reconnect with their roots.

There is truly no place like our community; wherever I go in Pasadena or Altadena, I rarely encounter anyone who doesn’t know my family or have some connection to me. It’s a special bond filled with love and familiarity.

Dr. King’s teachings remind us of the importance of studying our community. Our endeavors should not merely be competent—they ought to be exceptional, surpassing anything that could be offered by the living or the deceased. Striving for excellence begins with fostering communication and mutual understanding.

Sending blessings and love your way.

Tyron Hampton

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S BLUEPRINT?

Six months before he was assassinated, King spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967.

“I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life’s blueprint?

Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint.

Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint.

I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life’s blueprint. Number one in your life’s blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don’t allow anybody to make you fell that you’re nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life’s blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You’re going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life’s work will be. Set out to do it well.

And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you–doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, “If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.”

This hasn’t always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don’t drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you’re forced to live in — stay in school.

And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don’t just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn’t do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can’t be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.

Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”

— From the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.