Martin Luther King, Jr.: An Unfulfilled Dream Essay

Martin Luther baron, younger was an the Statesn clergy musical composition and Nobel Prize winner. He was one and only(a) of the principal attracters of the the Statesn civil rights movement and an commend of unbloody avow. His ch altogetherenges to segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950s and sixties convinced many snow-clad Americans to support the ca intention of civil rights in the United States. After his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther queer, Jr. became a image of protest in the struggle for racial justice. Martin Luther ability, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 ability in capital of Georgia, Georgia to the Rev. Martin Luther faggot, Sr. and Alberta Williams ability.His first name was listed on his birth records as Michael instead of Martin. App atomic number 18ntly, their family doctor thought that his fathers name was Michael who was known as Mike throughout his childhood. afterwards on his first name was changed to Martin. King attended elementa ry and spunky discipline at local segregated public schools, where he excel conduct. He entered college at nearby to a greater extenthouse College at age 15 and in 1948 graduated with a bachelors degree in sociology. He was ordained as Baptist minister at the age of 18. He graduated with honors from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in 1951.King as well went to Boston University where he pull in a doctoral degree in systematic theology in 1955. Kings public-speaking abilities developed slowly during his collegiate course of studys. While in Morehouse College he won a second-place prize in a quarrel contest although he received Cs in 2 public-speaking courses in his first year at Crozer. However, by the end of his third year at Crozer, professors were praising King for the powerful impression he make in public speeches and discussions. Later on, Kings public-speaking abilities became renowned during his occasion in the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King, Jr . was exposed to influences that related Christian theology to the struggles of beated passels during his upbringing. His studies of the teachings of Indian hauler Mohandas Gandhi influenced his attitude on nonviolent protests. He was also influenced by the sermons of neat Protestant ministers who preached against American racism. A truly important person who shaped Kings theological development was Benjamin E. Mays who was the president of Morehouse College and who was also a leader in the field conjunction of raci entirelyy liberal clergymen.While studying in Boston University, King met Coretta Scott who was a music student and native of Alabama. The two were married in 1953 and eventually would conduct four children. King pass judgment his first pastorate at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954. This church has a well-educated congregation and had deep been led by a minister who had protested against segregation. In 1955, while King was servi ng as a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, the black community has a broad-standing grievances about their maltreatment in city buses. The blacks are a great deal bullied and only allowed to sit at the back portion of the bus.In celestial latitude 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a leading member of the National Association for the progress of Colored People (NAACP) was arrested because of her refusal to give up her seat for a white passenger. This event led to the formation of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) where King was chosen to be the president. Their association come ined the bus boycott in Montgomery that lasted for more than a year. In February 1956, they filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking an injunction against Montgomerys segregated seating practices. The federal court ordered the citys buses to be desegregated.The city government appealed the ruling to the United States Supreme Court and by the time the Supreme Court upheld the lower court decision in November 1956, K ing was already a national figure. He wrote a account of the bus boycott entitled Stride Toward Freedom in 1958. His story provided a thoughtful account of that experience and further extended Kings national influence. The southerly Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was founded with his overhaul in 1957. The SCLC is an organization of black churches and ministers that aimed to challenge racial segregation.King became the SCLCs president and with some early(a) SCLC leaders encouraged the use of nonviolent direct perform to protest discrimination and segregation. Their activities included demonstrations, boycotts and marches. These activities provoked violent responses from many whites that eventually forced the federal government to confront the issues of racism and injustices in the South. King made alliances in the north and in 1960 went back to Atlanta and became a co-pastor to his father at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. King led SCLC in a series of protest campaigns i n the early 1960s that gained national attention.In 1961, the first campaign was held in Albany, Georgia. SCLC joined their local demonstrations against segregated restaurants, hotels, transit, and housing. However, this protest was not successful. In 1963, the SCLC joined a local protest in Birmingham, Alabama. Teenagers and school children were encouraged to join. The chief of police, Eugene Connor, was angered and sent police officers with rape dogs and ordered firefighters to aim high-pressure water hoses against the marchers. The police attack on young protesters were shown in newspapers and on televisions around the world.King was arrested and sent to cast out for creating disorder in the city. . He wrote a letter Letter from Birmingham jug which argued that individuals had the moral right and responsibility to disobey unjust laws. His letter was widely read at the time and has added to Kings standing as a moral leader. Because of the violence in the Birmingham protest, it brought about a national reaction that built the support for the struggle for black civil rights. The protests forced white leaders to end some forms of segregation in Birmingham.More importantly, the demonstrations gave courage to many Americans to support national legislation against segregation. On exalted 28, 1963, King delivered his I Have a Dream speech which in part states I have a dream that one mean solar day this nation entrust rise up and live out the current meaning of its doctrine We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children go awaying one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. He delivered this speech during the 1963 March on Washington, a bulky protest in Washington, D. C. , for jobs and civil rights. The speech and the march created the governmental urge that solutioned in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. T his Act prohibited segregation in public accommodations, as well as discrimination in education and employment. King was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize for peace because of his effectiveness as a leader of the American civil rights movement and his highly visible moral stance. In 1965, SCLC joined a voting-rights protest march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. in force(p) outside of Selma, police beat and tear-gassed the marchers. This day became known as bally(a) Sunday. The Selma march created support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act suspended the use of literacy tests and other voter qualification tests that often had been used to prevent blacks from registering to vote. professorship Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law in August 1965. Later amendments to the act were banned. In 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking black drool workers. On April 4, a sniper in Memphis assassinated him.News of Kings assassina tion resulted to shock and anger throughout the nation and the world. In 1969, an fly white convict named James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the murder of King. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Martin Luther Kings dream was to have equality and justice for all in particular the black people. Segregation and racial discrimination are the things that he fought for. But what is racism or racial discrimination? Where did it stem from? What has caused it? racialism refers to a belief that advocates discriminating against people based on an ascribed race.It often includes the belief that people of a exceptional race has a particular aptitude and characteristics. Some people believed that races could be ranked or scaled. Others divide people into themes based mainly on skin color. racial discrimination is not the same as racial prejudice. Racism can also be referred to as a system of oppression. institutional racism is based on the notions that one race is superior to other race s. Organizations, institutions and other radicals that practice racism usually discriminate or marginalise a certain class of people who share a putting surface racial designation.The bulk or dominant assort in a society commonly applied racism because it is the group that has the means to oppress others. Majority groups usually constitute a higher proportion of a give universe of discourse. Minority group, on the other hand is a group of people who share a common cultural, racial, or religious backgrounds. They usually constitute a comparatively subaltern proportion of a given population. Most often, they have fewer rights and less power than majority groups. single of the reasons for having minority group in a particular society is immigration. base on history, racism has been an integral part of America. It started during the time of Americas colonization by the Europeans. During the colonization, African slaves and other Europeans (those who are serving obligate servit ude) both served the European colonizers. A few Africans were given freedom and add grant and became landowners. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a revolt against the Governor of Virginia because of his evolution of poorer colonists. Bacon died and the revolt died with him. However, what concerned the Governor and the rich landowners was the multi-racial support of Bacons rebellion.This lead to decision the only African slaves will be used. Furthermore, anti- miscegenation laws were passed on so that intermarriages between European and other races were prevented. This change led to the long period of slavery in American society and the social breakage on color lines soon become ingrained in compound American close. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed all slaves in the United States. Only slaveholding border states which is not settle down a part of the Union were exempted from this proclamation.Slavery was ended in the ful l-length United States by virtue of the declaration of the 13th Amendment on celestial latitude 18, 1865. However, discrimination against black and other minority groups continued. Proofs of discrimination are the human beings of Jim Crow laws, the enactment of Minimum wages, educational disparities and segregations in schools, and the widespread vile acts done by local and vigilante groups. The fight of Martin Luther King and his supporters, which has been mentioned in the early part of the research, led to the abolition of segregation and the granting of voting rights to black.However, Kings dream of equality and non-prejudice and justice for everyone has not been fulfilled stock-still. in that respect are restrained places in the United States where racial discrimination could still be observed. Hispanic people are of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Latin Americans are often viewed as a monolithic group in the Anglo-American society. They are called Latinos and are portrayed as passionate or violent people. The inflow of Hispanic immigrants, whether legal or illegal, has elicited anti-Latino sentiments especially in areas that have traditionally has no or had a very few Hispanic residents.On the other hand, places like California and Southern Florida where Hispanic Americans have long been present, racial tensions between Hispanics and non-Hispanics are sometimes visible, more often when Hispanics gain economic and political clout. Due to the form of background of Hispanic people in the United States, racist policies also vary widely. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted American citizenship to Mexicans living in America after the Mexican War. The intermarriages of Anglo-Americans and Hispanics in the Southwest that produced mestizos are still socially excluded from whites of Northern European descent.Racism against Arab Americans is proportionately rising with the tensions between the American government and the Arab world. In 1973, week s after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, an Ivy League graduating class wore Arab dresses in racist mockery. During the 1991 Gulf War and the Oklahoma City bombing and the capital of Iran embassy hostage crisis in 1979 racism against Arab Americans escalated. Discrimination and cultural violence against them deep increased after the September 11th terrorists attacks in the United States. In 2001, a Sikh man was killed in Phoenix, Arizona.It was a racially-motivated incident because the mans beard and turban was a reminder of Osama bin Laden. In Houston, Texas, an Indian American candidate for the Houston City Council lost to his opponent because of anti-Asian Indian campaign made by the supporter of his opponent. Although the allegation has been denied, the Indian American lost during the election. A few groups still openly advocate white supremacy in the United States. These groups include the Ku Klux Klan, the National Alliance, Aryan Nations, and some(prenominal) smaller groups like the White Order of Thule.A number of small white supremacist groups have recently been started as a reaction to the influx of Somali and Hmong immigrants particularly in the Midwest. Some of these groups target teens. Some put down companies are distributing openly racist songs in popular teen hangouts. The ever-changing racial make up of the United States population has caused the inclusion of other races in the equation. Presently, Latin Americans and Asian Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. These groups have redefined the relationship between races.At least four states, namely, California, Texas, Hawaii and New Mexico including the District of Columbia are deemed to be majority minority states meaning whites are not the majority of the population. Several acts and proclamations have been enacted and declared by the former presidents of the United States to set aside racial segregation, discrimination and prejudice. It can be said that these act s and proclamations have coat the fashion for better lives and opportunities for non whites. America has come a long way from its slavery days during the colonial American era to the present.It can be said that a part of Kings dream, his dream for his children to be recognized not by the color of their skin but by the content of their characters, has been realized. This is shown in todays acceptance of the black population in the American society. African-Americans can be seen in the different sectors of the society. in that location are now black doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers and politicians. They enjoy both economic and political clout. The use of the terms niggers or negroes are considered politically incorrect. They enjoy all the benefits that a white American enjoys.Yet, the other part of Kings dream has not been fulfilled, that is, his dream 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. America has yet to rise up and live out the meaning of its creed. Why has America not live up to its creed? When America opened its doorway not only to the Europeans and Africans but also to several other races, the result is a diversified American population in terms of moral principle and cultural backgrounds. These differences contributed to the racial prejudice of the white Americans to non-whites.The long-ingrained social rift along color lines, which goes back to colonial American culture, has been deepened. Also, immigrants from other countries are substantially intimidated by white Americans. They usually come from countries that were colonized by the United States. They have the mentality that white Americans are superior to them. They also normally come to America in search of greener pasture. These immigrants arrive in the United States with only limited amount of money. They are prey to abusive white Americans when their cash run out. The influx of immigration created more problems than benefits.The high immigration rates threatened Americas common culture and increased competition for jobs. Wages were lowered. Only employers profited while injuring labor, and especially harming those at the bottom of the job market. The increase in immigration also led to new issues. In the later part of the 20th century, issues arose about whether group identity challenged national identity. Many Americans wanted to preserve a mavin of national unity while respecting social diversity. They debated the pros and cons of bilingual education, the impact of multiculturalism, and the merits of plausive action policies in education and employment.The debate over affirmative action is likely to continue, in public and in the courts. Americans will have to poise individual rights against group rights, to consider problems that involve national identity versus group identity, to be both colorblind and race-conscious, and to foster unity while appreciating diversity. E pluribus unum (from many, one) so remains a vital concept. The experience of the last decades of the century suggests that the hunting of American idealsof liberty, equality, and democracyis a process that rests on conflict as well as consensus.Nature dictates that people agree and disagree with one another. If everybody agrees with everybody, life would be boring. There would be no ups and downs, no joys and sorrows. For now, Kings dream will remain unfulfilled. REFERENCES C. S. King, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. (1969) Robert J. Norrell, Martin Luther King, Jr. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004. Norman Dorsen and Jethro K. Lieberman, Civi Rights and Civil Liberties, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004 David J. Garrow, accusation the Cross Martin Luther King, Jr. , and the Southern ChristianLeadership Conference (1986) David L. Lewis, King A Critical Biography (1970). Bullock III, C. S. & Rodgers Jr. , H. R. (1976) Inst itutional Racism Prerequisites, Freezing, and Mapping. Phylon 37 (3), 212-223. Woolf, S. H. , Johnson, R. E. , Fryer Jr, G. E. , Rust, G. , & Satcher, D. (2004). TheHealth Impact of Resolving Racial Disparities An compendium of US Mortality Data. American Journal of Public Health, 94 (12), 2078-2081. Rosten, Leo (1968) The Joys of Yiddish Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have a Dream (1986 fib Film) Racial liberalism era Zoot Suit Riots inner city