When reflecting back on Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, I cannot help but to think that many of the ideas he presented have been in vain. It may seem as though things have changed for black people since the civil rights movement, which in some regard it most definitely has. However, there is a lot of room for improvement that is needed for a full realization of MLK’s dream. If he were here today it seems that he would be disappointed with the lack of opportunity that still is missing from the African American population. The following paper will discuss my opinions supported by facts to explain my position to the audience.
“One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (King 1963). This condition that Dr. King had hoped would be erased from the landscape of America, continues to haunt the black folks even in 2016. Surely, many would argue and state that my position is false in believing that black people in America are still facing the disenfranchisement as a result of discrimination, but all one has to do is turn on the news or observe social media posts to see how little has changed.
Despite the fact that the United States has had a black president for nearly eight years, there is still a heavy tone of racism present throughout the nation. No president has faced the unfair criticism that President Obama has faced during his two terms as POTUS. The resilience from fellow politicians, along with questions of his religious beliefs and his birthplace have been brought up due to his race. For anyone truly paying attention it is evident that black people, including the President of the United States, our first black president, has faced and continues to face discrimination as a result of skin color.
As a matter of fact, Dr. King may even consider the current condition of black people in America to have turned into somewhat of a nightmare as group like “Black Lives Matter” continue to work on the injustices faced by black people in the judicial, educational, and socio-economic systems. The “gap in wealth between the white and black populations continues to grow wider and wider,” which says a lot about how far or shall I say, how far behind, the nation is in terms of realizing Dr. King’s dream (Spence 2015).
One of the areas where racism continues to be acceptable and ignored by government officials is in the justice system. As many have come to learn, racial profiling and police brutality run rampant within the black communities across America.
Rather than arresting or taking action against an individual with a fair amount of proof that some illegal actions has occurred, many law enforcement officers have targeted young black men as guilty parties based solely on their race and appearance. “For example, a growing body of statistical evidence demonstrates that black motorists are disproportionately stopped for minor traffic offenses because the police assume that they are more likely to be engaged in more serious criminal activity” ("Chapter One: Race and the Police" 2016). What is society saying when those who are designated to keep citizens safe are actually turning against citizens based on skin color? It is truly atrocious.
The last several years, as a result of the internet, many stories have come to light about the mistreatment of black people at the hands of police officers. Many of the brutal killings of young black men by white officers have been made public, bringing attention to those individuals who were senselessly killed by cops. This is only one area that I could use to justify why Dr. King’s dream has not come to fruition. Many other points can be made about the imbalance in equality that stems from race.
The most disenfranchised group of all in the United States are the African American members of the nation. As groups like “Black Lives Matter” emerge, more attention to change is brought to the forefront of social issues that still exist in America. In many ways black people are doing worse than ever as we look at the statistics of more black men ending up in prison versus going to college. As a matter of fact, prison has been stated as being the new face of slavery by many black activists. In additions to these simple facts, there are the insurmountable number of blacks living in poverty that do not seem to have a realistic way out without the help of proper guidance, which no one is providing. For a people who had their heritage torn apart as a result of slavery, it is disgraceful to assume that they need no assistance to uplift their condition. I wish that I could say that MLK’s dream has been fulfilled, but sadly there is still a ways to go before black people sincerely have the level of equality that Dr. King had dreamed of.
Works Cited
"Chapter One: Race and the Police." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human
Rights. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
King, Martin Luther. "Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Speech - American
Rhetoric." Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Speech - American Rhetoric.
American Rhetoric, 1963. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Spence, Lester. "For Black People, There Is Martin Luther King’s Dream." The New
York Times. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/01/01/is-the-modern-
american-dream-attainable/for-black-people-there-is-martin-luther-kings-
dream>.
