Introduction
Over fifty years ago, on August 28th 1963, over 250000 Americans led by DR. Martin Luther gathered in Washington D.C. demanding an end to the racial disenfranchisement and segregation. Millions of people listened on radio and watched on television as eloquent Civil rights activists called for the granting of voting rights and the right to attend integrated schools to blacks. The activists also pushed for fair judgment; in the words of Dr. Luther King demanding that blacks should not be judged by their skin color but by their character’s content.
The apex of this demonstration was brought about iconic speech “I Have a Dream” made by King Luther. In this speech he says that white America had gone back in its promise of democracy and human rights which was issued to both the whites and the blacks. This speech and its vital components especially the six stanzas with the phrase; “I have a dream” and the ten passages with phrase; “let freedom ring” were vital to the wholesale changes effected in the US. The march played the role of a backbone to the unrest witnessed in the US over the early 1960s. With the unavoidable pressure from the unrests, changes were effected. President Lyndon Johnson alongside king Martin Luther were seen together signing into law the historic civil rights legislation; the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting right act of 1965. Various advancements have been made with reference to Luther’s speech which have identified the negative experiences and retrogressions that have been entwined in the American social fabric. This paper examines these advancements and progress show casing the retrogressions associated. This paper also concludes by examining the status of the minority groups in the US.
Advancements and progress showing the Regression
Although the march on Washington called for total democratic changes and the adoption of equality and civil rights, indeed some advancement within the country still portrayed the regressions. This march on is seen to have sanction action on the civil rights by the US government. The government perceived the march and the successive events and lectures given by King Martin Luther as threats to its administrations. The threats were seen to be emanating from the King Luther’s CBC lectures and in a greater extent the movements and actions, he led or undertook during the last three years before he was assassinated. To the government these advancements action did not only show an gradualist reformer as a far-reaching antagonist of the prevailing profits system and its realm, they also portrayed how King Martin Luther analyzed the unfinished and incomplete state of the progress of the nation against class and racial injustice; around which majority of the forward developments came to a dead-stop over the 1970s. This was attributed to the white hostile response which was already on the move in the 1960s; before Black Panthers’ emergence and pertly to the corporate top-down battles against the American working class citizens, which was started during the tenure of Jimmy Carter and intensified over the reign of Ronald Reagan..
A militarism impose “spiritual doom” has progressed on , having the Washington indirectly or directly involved in the killings of millions of South Americans, Central Americans Muslims, Africans, Iraqis, Asians and Arabs through various ways since the Vietnam war. With reference to half of the world unrealistic military expenditure, the US maintains a cold war state realm budgets to put up with a world-wide killing machine that has not been matched by any state in history, although the recorded number of poor Americans is still stuck at over 46 million; majority of them being the minority groups (African Americans and Latinos).
The election of the 44th president, being a black person was seen to be a sign of hope to the minority groups. It was seen as a turn around, the realization of the dreams. However, it is shameful and ironic that the current president of US; Obama, watches over his actions by using King Luther’s actions. President Obama has consistently supported top financial and corporate interests whose representative are a major part of his campaigns, administration and campaign coffers, in consistence with the prompt dead-on account of an imminent first black president as a smart Harvard lawyer who has immaculate credentials and unfilled with repressive neoliberal politics; as given by Adolph Reed Jr. The US government over years has overlooked people who would assume staid programs to bring poverty to an end; ensure equitable distribution of wealth; compel capital, and conserve a livable ecosystem as it draws towards a number of perilous inclining points on the hastening path to irremediable catastrophe. Indeed to some extent presidents have been criticized such as Obama who has been denounced as an enemy to business although he has factored in the healthcare bill from Romney, the environmental policies of Gingrich, the deficit-bankrolled payroll tax plan of McCain and the bailouts of corporations and banks by Bush
The first black president has rejected the demands s for any serious state attention or special programs to solve the racial inequalities in the country which is so vast that the number of white homes surpasses the black homes by a factor of 20 and the Hispanic homes by 18. President Obama has acted this way on contrast to his deep ascendance to presidency which has been seen to deeply reinforce the sense of the White America that racism as an obstacle to the advancement of the black community has come to an end and has also created its momentous white backlash which only deteriorates the circumstance of the minority black Americans. President Obama has let it known through his leadership that the unpaid promissory note; Luther spoke of, will stay un-cashed during his term. This is unswerving with his absurd 2007 campaign claim to believe that African Americans had already attained equal treatment in the US.
Finalizing on the hoax, the US president has personally approved of the Special Forces International War against the Terror Kill persons. He has stretched the immense criminal and killing and global spying procedures which have been passed on from administrations to administrations. The current administration has compressed down their failed and expensive ground battles only to incline up and bloat the duties of drone attacks and an inexplicable special force in the essence of the reckless and dashing imperialism. Over the present past, the US government has engaged in attacks such as the Libyan air strikes without even awaiting the approval of the congress.
When the US elected the first black president, there was immense sense of hope; he gave a liberal promise, which was perceived to be a reality to the dreams of King Luther. However, all he has just done is changing the wallpaper at the white house and rearranging the furniture in the house; the financial policies he has adopted are similar to his predecessor’s; he has embraced wholeheartedly unconstitutional wars. The US government has neglected the promise it gave the civil right activists of putting put forth a vision to our nation seeking jobs, education, voting equality, and fairness under the law for all American citizens. The administrations which have to power since the march on have rolled back the civil rights protections.
Conclusion
King martin and his fellow civil rights advanced essential policy changes which went to the grain of the US corporate state, reflecting the agreement Luther made with the new left radicals that the then evils would only be eliminated through structural changes because, they had roots in the system and to in the person or faulty operations. They advocated for a national emergency program focused on providing better paying jobs to everyone or guaranteeing national income at levels which would sustain life in comfortable conditions. The demands of the protest were also involving an end to the racial discriminations and nepotism. However the previous governments as well as the present have done nothing to effect these revolutions. The minority groups are still being oppressed; the government has not yet fulfilled the promises. American citizens still do not access better paying jobs, people are till incriminated basing on the color of their skins; still fairness under the law of all American citizens has not been attained. Therefore it is still a challenge to the minority groups or the poor people.
