Racial Segregation: A Historical Perspective

Imagine living in a utopian society where only people without color were accepted. Where colored people would have to be separated from white people wherever they go; whether it be a restroom, office, workplace, or even school. Today, we are blessed that we do not have to live like that, where colored people have to go to seperate places, just because the color of their skin is different; however, blacks still have it different, especially with criminal law, but blacks have it way better than they did 50 years ago. Martin Luther King Jr. was a very important person that was involved with black freedom. King was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up to be a baptist minister, and led on to be a civil rights activist. King

His most familiar and famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” talks about “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” (American Rhetoric:

King uses the metaphor “to cash a check” (American Rhetoric: King.) to show that “America has given the Negro people a bad check.” (American Rhetoric: King.) This creates a picture in the audience’s minds that America hasn’t treated African Americans the way they should be treated, which King thinks they should be created equal, like the whites. On the other hand, whites think that African Americans are “insufficient funds” (American Rhetoric: King.) White people believe that African Americans shouldn’t be treated equally because the color of their skin is the contrast of white. King sticks with checks and banking metaphor, but transitions to not only African Americans, but society in general. A bank is bigger than a check, so King moves onto a “bank of justice,” (American Rhetoric: King.) the ‘bank’ represents society, and of course justice, meaning fairness and freedom. King states “the bank of justice is bankrupt,” (American Rhetoric: King.) The ‘bankrupt’ part, means that society has nothing to give for African Americans freedom. Metaphors represent a powerful and an imaginative way to appeal to his