Martin Luther King
“I have a dream…” – four simple words; ordinary but made glorious impact in the hearts of thousands of Americans in the past, up to now and even in the future. It may not look much but this four-word phrase has been written down in history and it has left its mark in this earth. The man who made these four typical words prestigious is no other than: Martin Luther King. He delivered his speech in August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. as a sign for his fight against racial discrimination.
King believed in non-violent ways of protest and he is an advocate of social justice. He started fighting for freedom after a black woman, Rosa Parks, had been put in trial and got arrested after having to refuse to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. This started King’s revolution against the mistreatment of black people during their time; this started the emergence of the message that changed the whole nation. In his speech, Martin Luther King said, “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.
The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. ” This shows his determination to end the discrimination and oppression experience by the black people and to make justice applicable to each and every citizen of America. He exemplifies the principles of justice, equality, opportunity and optimism for all to feel. He wanted people to find reason and not resentment and he appealed to their conscience, and not their anger. King specified six dreams he had for America.
His first dream was “…that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. ” He dreamt of a nation where each and everyone had equal opportunities, to eat, to be educated, to be employed, to speak their minds, and to live, regardless of the color of their skin. He stood up for the thousands of black people who were being mistreated because of their skin color. His second dream was that in Georgia, the sons of former slaves and slave owners will be unified through a brotherhood.
He wanted friendship to be open and free, and not only bounded by those people who have the same skin color. He wanted each every American to experience a community wherein friendships and relationships are formed without the fear of being friends with someone different from one’s race. Third was that the state of Mississippi which burns with injustice and oppression will be “transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. ” He wanted cruelty to stop, especially where it was most evident.
He wanted every single black person to experience the freedom and justice he was fighting and willing to die for. His fourth dream was for his four children to live in a nation where they will not be judged by their color, but by the content of their character. He wanted the narrow-minded people to disregard the color of one’s skin in getting to know a person. The color of a person’s skin does not account for who he/she is and what he/she can do. His fifth dream was that one day, down in Alabama; black and white children would learn to join hands together as brothers and sisters.
He wanted fairness to start with the youth and for them to experience it together. He wanted equality to continue for generations and generations. Lastly, he dreamt that the “…the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. ” This shows his strong faith that through God’s love and mercy, each and every one, black or white, Jew or Gentile, young or old, Protestant or Catholic will be able to experience the freedom, justice and equality he has been fighting for with all his strength, love and life.
As Martin Luther King once said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. ” References Remembering Martin Luther King. (15 January 2006). The Voice of America. Retrieved from www. voanews. com on 5 May 2009. Martin Luther King. (August 1963). I Have A Dream Speech. Speech delivered at the climax of the civil rights march at Washington D. C. Historic Figures: Martin Luther King. (n. d. ) BBC Historic Figures. Retrieved from www. bbc. co. uk on 5 May 2009.
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