Dr. Martin Luther King’s Dream in Progress

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Dr. Martin Luther King's speech, "I Have a Dream," was given to a crowd of 200,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. This speech turned out to be one of the greatest speeches ever given, due to Dr. King's background and beliefs that become evident through this speech. His background in the ministry is reflected in his great ability to speak to a public audience. Only someone with his talent in speaking could have put the words together so powerfully. His beliefs are personified in every line, which gives an in-depth look into the crisis of the time.

Dr. King starts his "I Have a Dream" speech giving reference to the time when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The purpose of this document was to free the slaves and make all men equal, which gave the black man the glimpse of sunlight he had been looking for. It gave him the hope of a brighter future, while leaving behind the chains of slavery.

Then King states the situation of the current time. The black man was free of slavery, but not of segregation and discrimination. Though the black man was freed from slavery, in essence he was tossed out of the frying pan into the fire. He was given his freedom, but oppression kept him from being a free man. King speaks of this as a bad check that America wrote to the black community, a check that when cashed should have resulted in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all men. However, this did not come true. The check had not been cashed. It was returned marked "insufficient funds". The bank of America had failed to come clean on its end of the deal, which resulted in the failure of the inalienable rights of all men to come true.

Next, King speaks of how the nation will be with...

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...ars ago the Emancipation Proclamation was to free the slave, yet still the black man had not become completely free. The acts of segregation and discrimination had suppressed the black community up until the day that Dr. King gave his speech, and continues to suppress them to this day. Things have not changed to the extent that they should have. People are still viewing other people of different races from themselves as lesser people. This is an action that has either been instilled in them from their ancestors, or they simply believe it out of their ignorance of the opposite races culture. Perhaps one day when people become educated of the differences in culture of the races, and accept people for whom they are instead of discriminating against them for their skin color, we may find a world of peace and tranquility that I feel Dr. Martin Luther King saw in his dream.

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