Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech: The Dream Has Been Achieved

“Tell Them about the Dream, Martin!” by Drew Hansen explains the improvisation of Martin Luther King Jr. made in after the March on Washington leading to the his “I Have a Dream” speech that captivated the world. The article informs the reader about the idea of a person using a powerful phrase to highlight his optimism of racial discrimination ending, and wanting equality for all.

In this book, King is clearly speaking to a contemporary and mostly white audience. And the bulk of the book is devoted to answering the titular question. Time and again he steps out of the narrative to rebut various criticisms from contemporaries who said that his movement was too militant, too extreme, too impractical, too disorganized, too out-of-touch with ordinary people, too disengaged from the political process. The year 1963 marked the 100-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King asks two questions: why should we wait for emancipation? And aware of what White Americans were doing to Black Americans, "What is the Negro doing for himself?  (King p. 8) Martin Luther King concludes by pointing out the importance of expanding on the current campaign, what his hopes are for the future, why he wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, why the campaign was the right thing to do, why America was a better place in January of 1964 than it was in January of 1963, and why America can't wait any longer to be wholly free. King examines the history of the civil rights struggle, noting tasks

William E. Gladstone states” Justice delayed is justice denied.” Meaning when justice is not served in a timely manner, it means you receive any justice at all. In the” I have dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. he talks about the injustice people of color were receiving in the 1940s-60s. “Cairo: My city or Revolution” by Ahdaf Soueif tells of a family who lives under the rule of a dictator. And the story “Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi and talks about a woman in Tehran being discriminated against because of her gender. All of these texts give us instances where people were being denied freedom. I believe that freedom should be demanded rather than being given.

This was great rhetoric. King plays on Americans’ patriotism when he says, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.” He makes it seem that those who are segregationists are backward people. Another great argument he makes is by showing the brutality African Americans must undergo. He says, “But when you have seen vicious mob s lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters…then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.” (King 47-48) King’s great arguments make it nearly impossible to ask African Americans to wait.

    The Civil Rights Movement was a zealous and essential period in American History. The civil rights movement began in 1954 and was led by African Americans to outlaw racial discrimination against Blacks. One century after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, African Americans still observing segregation and various forms of oppression and “Jim Crow” laws. The nonviolent and civil disobedience protests were used by the civil rights activists to bring about change. Some significant leaders within the Black community were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,  Malcolm X, and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Secondly within the text King challenges the system that has been forced upon African Americans. Going back the the concept of segregation. It was designed to systematically keep the African American community oppressed without the community knowing it or the government directly stating it. The White lawmakers tried with all their power to keep the African American community powerless and have a sense of inferiority. Martin Luther King Jr. challenged those who tried to enforce this ideology by speaking against it despite the danger. He spoke out against these racist laws in the quote “A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law.” (92, King) Within this quote he speaks against the unfair laws that affected African Americans but they were not able to vote on. It is incredibly unfair and unconstitutional to deny someone the right to vote let alone create a law affecting a specific race without letting

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was written and delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and remains one of the most historically influential and world-changing speeches of all time. Fifty-two years later, this speech is considered to be one of the best persuasive speeches ever delivered. Dr. King is not only attempting to persuade his audience to understand the plight of minorities in the United States, but he is also attempting to encourage a nation to change for the betterment of mankind. Through the effective use of several literary elements, Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech prompted Caucasian Americans to look closer at the country 's dismal record of civil rights for black Americans and other minorities.

King addresses in this quotation the reasoning behind the sit-ins and the protests that are underway in response to the discrimination that is occurring. His argument about justice is that the single injustice of the discrimination of black people at this time unhinges the idea of justice is encompassing and in this case it is not encompassing the entire population. He speaks of this mutuality between all humans, no matter the race or background of a person and this injustice is truly an injustice to everyone, whether they are affected directly or indirectly by this

The cynical cycle of enslavement has ravaged on throughout the history 's great civilizations; the victor holding reign over the defeated, the enslaved succumbing to the forces of bondage. There has always been, and always will be, a discord between peoples of different groups. Until the advent of modern democracy, the distraughted had no voice which to be heard by the masses. Democracy has paved a way for all citizens to have equality. In 1863, the United States of America joined other nations by emancipating those in bondage. Slavery had begun it’s way out in the modern world. However, due to years of indoctrination and social appropriation, there was a discord between those who were white and those who were colored. One hundred years after the emancipation proclamation was given, there was still social and systemic oppression and discrimination against colored people in American Society. Martin Luther King Jr. was an advocate during the Civil Rights Era who fought for the equal treatment of all people. In 1963 MLK gave his timeless “I have a Dream Speech” that sought to both help bring the end of systematic discrimination in America and to unify the country through love and peace.

The grievances occurring in 1963 weren’t supposed to still be an issue to African Americans. Dr. King references the Emancipation Proclamation and tells of the injustice still being reaped. They were given rights in the Constitution, but their daily lives tell another story. African Americans were still encountering racism through forms of employment and schooling. Dr. King wants to be given what they were promised: equality.

Dr. King’s frustration about this whole unfair laws and treatment of blacks started to show when in his letter, he stated “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait”. He then follows that with a list of negative statements and names that has been put upon blacks that whites have never experienced. The whites have not been in the black man’s shoes. Whites calling blacks “niggers”, “ boy’, and “John” as well as spitting on the black man showing that the blacks, in the eyes of whites are below dirt, uncivilized,

August 28, 1963 (Eidenmuller) marked a very important day in history that had an impact not only on America, but the whole world. On this day, Martin Luther King Jr. presented his well known I Have a Dream speech that aimed to eliminate racism, inequality and discrimination. He strongly believed that one day people would put their differences aside and come together. So, what happened to that dream? Along with other equality initiative ideas, they rarely make it past the idea stages or end in the actual eradication result. It is clear to us that even after 51 years, our societies still struggle with accepting full equality. Within those 51 years we have made a mass amount of progress but, a common thought would be that after this long the issue should have been eradicated. Two essays that can be used as an example of proof that racial inequality still exists in our society are, Black Men in Public Spaces by Brent Staples and Who Shot Johnny? by Debra Dickerson. In these essays, both provide solid evidence to support their main goal with the use of different writing styles, tone, and rhetorical devices to display how African Americans are perceived and treated by society.

Martin Luther King discusses several points that all relate to the same topic, which was the freedom of Negroes. King uses the example of a bank to make his point come across clearer, without floundering in a literal blame session: “ America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” (King 2) Where Caucasians would typically believe themselves to be over African Americans, they can relate to both islands and banks, therefore putting them on an even field, and allowing them to obtain ideas openly. His speech is based on his Dream, which is a dream of freedom and equality. King mentions the point that still, after a hundred years of signing the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans are still not free. He shows the similarities between the occasion at which he speaks and “cashing a check,” on which “America has defaulted… A check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” (King 2) Those two topics are most mentioned and pointed out within King’s speech which are freedom and justice for African Americans. He demands on perseverance of the Negro

     Furthermore, Dr. King makes use of hyperbole, metaphor to stress his express his views to the audience. He states that it would be detrimental to the growth of the nation if it were to ignore the complaints of its citizens or to deny them of their civil rights. “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” His use of metaphor appeals to the common man’s logic that the great bank (the nation) has defaulted in cashing a check (personal liberties and freedoms). “In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights"

August 28th, 1963, 250,000 marchers stood in front of the Washington Monument to hear a message. A message from the leader of the civil rights leader whom many of the marchers have come to respect and follow. Marchers from all different backgrounds all supporting the civil rights and jobs for the African American community. Martin Luther King Jr. took the podium in front of these marchers and spoke a message that would inspire not just those present, but all of America to have a dream just like his. A dream in a country that has been stacking the cards against them for a couple hundred years. King took the podium and spoke of his dream, “… a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”” (King npg.). King’s speech resonated with thousands of African Americans and inspired them to dream his dream and start a movement that would lead them their civil rights.