Blueprints

On October 26, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech to teens at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia, PA. Unlike his national addresses, this speech entitled, "What is your life's blueprint?" offered personal advice to youth during a crucial part in their lives. In a high school auditorium, he urged them to draft a life's blueprint and allow the blueprint to shape and guide the way which they construct their lives. In this collection of narratives and essays, Bull City YouthBuild students of Durham, North Carolina, have adopted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech on its 50th anniversary. In 2017 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s voice and the weight of his words carry ever more, YouthBuild students have not only set upon the extended metaphor of blueprints to rebuild their lives, but also they use actual blueprints to build a house together in Durham.