Would Martin Luther King Be Proud with the Current Situation of America?

In 2008 black male workers only made 74 cents to every dollar made by a white worker with equal education. This is a significant issue because it creates a self reinforcing system that puts a large portion of the population at a disadvantage. Although the poor economic situation for African Americans in the U.S. may not be as prevalent as it was in the 1930’s, there still exists a significant gap between wages earned by white and black workers.

Despite beliefs to the contrary, the increasing disparity in real wealth between white and black Americans during the past half century shows that the economic system is unjust. Considering factors such as less intergenerational inheritance, higher unemployment and lower incomes serve as key components in economic disparity. Disparity can be viewed as a systematic design to keep a specific group of people continually oppressed through a mixture of inequality, injustice and power. When there is an inequality that is also an injustice (Wright, 2009).

In Dr. King’s “Where Are We?”, he emphasizes the struggle America goes through with contradictions. Even though civil rights legislation has been passed, the racial inequality persists because a legal document cannot change the inner conflict and inner morals that some people hold. Being raised in a fixed social structure, that African-Americans are lesser than whites, many people find it hard to let those beliefs go.

Until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his life’s work was dedicated to the nonviolent actions of blacks to gain the freedoms they were promised in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 by Abraham Lincoln. He believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1963). These injustices had become so burdensome to blacks that they were “plunged into an abyss of despair” (King, 1963). The nonviolent actions of the sit-ins, boycotts, and marches were so the “individual could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths…to help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism” and ultimately lead to “inevitably opening the door to negotiation” (King, 1963). Not only was King’s approach effective

Intro: The American Dream attracts many people from all over the world, people have an image that living in America grants them the life of their dreams, but does living in america really grant people the perfect life? The Case For Reparations by Coates explains how African Americans have struggled in the past with racism and discrimination. He goes on to talk about their lives during slavery and post slavery, and how African Americans are unemployed and undereducated. Aja ET AL.’s essay From A Tangle Of Pathology To A Race Fair America also talks about the lives of African Americans, the discrimination, segregation, and unemployment. They both go on explaining how Blacks are always discriminated against and are not given equal

On the 28th of August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the most inspiring, and influential speeches America has ever encountered titled “I Have a Dream”. The inspirational high point of a civil rights movement that asked for wrongs to be righted and for every American to get the same chance at success. He delivered his speech to blacks and whites to help advocate the idea of equality throughout all Americans. Martin Luther King first talks about America’s past, he then gradually moves on to the present and the current racial dilemmas African Americans are facing. Martin Luther then advocates Americans to take actions promptly to stop the racism that has been running through America’s veins for centuries. King relies heavily on pathos, ethos, and logos to convey his message of equality. As well as the use of several fallacies such as, the overly sentimental appeal, the bandwagon appeal, and circular reasoning to interact with his audience.

Through the past century, the quest for racial equality has been a continuous trail of successes and milestones. From Abraham Lincoln’s views on slavery during the Civil War that lead to the creation of the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing over four million African slaves in 1863, to the iconic “I have a dream” speech from Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, not to mention that Barack Obama, the very first African-American president of the United States, was inaugurated in 2009.

All men are created equal yet the glaring disparities between races and ethnicities say otherwise. The African American demographic of America has the lowest poverty rate and household income than all other races and ethnicities. The statistics about African American poverty are staggering in regards to more than just unemployment, food insecurity, and nutrition. In the 21st century, decades after the civil war and desegregation, and with such a diverse population, the poverty in our country still pertains to race and the color of our skin. The following paragraphs will explicate the various distinctions in socioeconomic statuses of the African American and white populations of America. It is not my intention to pit the white and black

For decades, African Americans fought for their rights as equal American citizens. It wasn’t until Martin Luther King Jr. started writing speeches and leading nonviolent protests that the white majority started listening. One of these protests was in Birmingham, Alabama, where King was leading a sit-in at a lunch counter. King and his followers were subjected to violence and arrest for these nonviolence protests for their civil rights. Another way King protested for African American rights were through his famous “I Have a Dream Speech” which acknowledged that, contrary to the government’s belief, not all men are equal. His “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” was his letter to the clergymen who were critical of his activities and his “I Have a Dream

On July 19,1962, Martin Luther King gave a speech regarding the American Dream in the eyes of a black man. In the speech he states, “We are simply seeking to bring into full realization the American dream- a dream yet unfulfilled...a dream of a land where men no longer argue that the color of a man’s skin determines the contents of his character”. To this day, the dream is still unfulfilled; blacks still fight for impartiality and equality. Today, many blacks are still targeted as being criminals or are stereotyped immediately about where they live or what organizations they are a part of due to the color of their skin. A specific example, is when Jackie Robinson rose from all of the ghettos into becoming a wealthy individual, “of the Jackie Robinson elite, whose parents rose up out of the ghettos, and the share-cropping

Analyzing the origin of racial history allows one to witness the inherent value within this argument: the idea of unity vs. diversity. As a result of the plethora of different races immigrating to the United States, the nation’s already immense diversity increased as most immigrants’ were in search for better lives through the “American Dream” and promised opportunity (Life). However, at this time, many whites believed their skin color automatically made them superior when juxtaposed with other races, specifically blacks; this led to unequal opportunity in harsh conditions when working for larger businesses and corporations. With this diversity existent in America, the idea of unity was absent, in the whites’ naive mindset. When famous figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for equal rights through non-violent protests and the creation of the “Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state,” (King) as he wrote in his letter from Birmingham Jail, he and his followers were met with

Lasch asserts, “Americans have always equated opportunity with upward mobility” (50). However, due to the gap between our economic lives, social mobility is unrealistic. Without economic equality, moving up the social ladder is essentially impossible. Lasch argues, “In our own time money has come to be regarded as the only reliable measure of equality…derived not merely from the distribution of wealth or economic opportunity but, above all, from the distribution of intelligence and competence” (59). Historically, opportunity is associated with social mobility, yet inequality has always been a problem that Americans have faced. Based on the double standard in American society, whites have the ability to succeed and thrive in our class system. To white individuals having a job and an education symbolize American citizenship. On the other hand, to blacks, “home ownership became an emblem of American citizenship” (Coates 27). However, I find that inequality is often tough to discuss, as many Americans are narrow-minded when it comes to what our political systems should achieve. As a result, African Americans at the bottom of our American hierarchical system are not given the opportunity to be freely, choosing individuals. This great gap between whites and blacks has caused two distinct ways of living in one, “united” country. Therefore, as Coates pointed out, blacks establish a sense of patriotism not to their country, but to their neighborhood or block (Coates

For the past 30 years the “gap” in income received by the rich and everyone else has continuously continued to increase, showing no signs of decrease anytime soon. This gap has mostly affected the middle class, which is made up of mostly African Americans and Hispanics, making America less determined to correct such an issue. Given the circumstances African American’s are the focus of this issue. It is known that modern racism exist within today’s society in various ways, one which happen to be within the economy. For decades the economy has has its downfalls, however, it’s been facing a issue that it has been hiding from the rest of the nation. The gap that everyone has been speaking of is only becoming more of issue, however, what many do not know is that African American’s are the ones who are feeling it the most. Given their history and place in society racial inequality. Modern racism has kept many blacks from receiving jobs and has kept them from many opportunities. Income inequality is an issue and it has been pushed aside for long enough it is now too big to avoid and it is time to therefore address it. It is due to such an act that the need for government assistance has increased, poverty levels are at an alltime high as are unemployment rates; and education levels are continuing to drop. The racial inequality African American face has come to affect their income earnings, which has affected education systems and poverty levels it is time such a issue is put to

Now, with an accurate understanding of what the American Dream is, one must really question the validity of an idea that appears to be too virtuous and unrealistic. Brookings.edu, a website that specializes and targets the social aspects of political situations, such as the effects of the Syrian Civil War, notes the disparaging decrease of wealth for Blacks in the United States in 2013. Its surveys and investigations have unsettling results; social mobility for Blacks is much lower than for Whites. They’re more likely to remain in poverty than their fellow White Americans, with exact figures stating, “More than half of black adults raised at the bottom of the income scale remain stuck there as adults, compared to a third of whites.” Sociologist Raj Chetty discovered that a predominant reason for the lack of Black social mobility is the unrelenting discrimination in society (The Other American Dream: Social, Mobility, and Race Opportunity). The labor market specifically is prone to these racist attacks. Employers are more likely to hire a White employee of the same background of a Black person. Jobs that ask for an applicant’s incarceration history tend to directly affect Blacks more because of their higher imprisonment

Now and then people have asked questions about how far we have come with race relations. We have leaped forward in strides and have made big steps toward King's dreams of equality, but there is still much more to be done. Martin Luther King Jr. made a lot of progress in issues of segregation and integration, but even today there are still racial clashes. Americans of every color still deal with the same issues and problems that civil rights activists then dealt with. Although African Americans have many more opportunities now, 24% (10.0 million people) were still in poverty in 2015 and 8.8% of African Americans are unemployed. Examples of discrimination are on the news almost every day and students see it in their schools repeatedly.