Prejudice and Racism in America
Prejudice and racism have been problems that have impacted communities all over the world throughout human existence. In the US, white people's intense animosity toward other racial groups, particularly African Americans, became eminently understandable. African Americans were routinely subjected to racial prejudice during the 20th century, and they ultimately experienced complete segregation. African Americans were victimized by Caucasians, and few people were prepared to move to put an end to racism and segregation. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I were among them. In Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929, I was born. Michael Luther King Jr. was my real name, which I adopted from my father. My mother, Alberta King, was a teacher, and my father, Michael Luther King, was a Baptist minister. My dad later changed both our names to Martin as a way of honoring Martin Luther, the German Protestant. Both my father and grandfather ministered in Atlanta at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. I also carried on the custom and ministered from 1960-1968, but my passion was fighting for human rights and equality. I played a major role in the African American Civil Rights Movement. Being an important voice of the movement, I was a standout amongst the most heroic and respected Civil Rights Movement leaders. I was a part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People executive committee which was the leading one in the country at that time. In 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization meant to give new authority to the Civil Rights Movement, elected me as their leader. My primary goal in life was to fight for African American rights, and I had no fear doing this. People knew me for my nonviolent methods of overcoming injustice because I believed that violence was not a means to achieve justice. For the duration of my life, I tried my hardest to make individuals comprehend that "all men are created equal" (King).
A Journey Towards Racial Equality
Amid the twentieth century, most of the African American communities overlooked the unjust treatment towards their race, and they accepted the segregation laws. However, I had morals of racial equality having been subjected to racism at an early stage in life. My father and I had worked together for several years as we both tried to tackle the same problem, and he had worked in the area of civil rights even before I was born and when I was just a kid, therefore, I grew up in the kind of atmosphere that had a real civil rights concern (Warren). My belief was that everybody ought to have equal rights regardless of the color of their skin, and I thus endeavored to improve the life of my African American fellows. A short while after I graduated from college, I became a pastor and moved to Montgomery. I turned into a prominent speaker in the Civil Rights Movement and showed my morals through the use of nonviolent protests. I believed that every human being has equal rights, nobody is socially higher or lower than other, and in this way, everybody ought to be treated with equal dignity and respect. By using peaceful persuasion, I wanted to inspire a genuine state of mind for everyone living under segregation laws. People needed to open their eyes and see the hatred that African Americans tolerated every day, and they needed to know that this behavior was unbearable. People's silence alarmed me because I believed that "he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is cooperating with it" (King). Every African American needed to live their life the way they thought was morally right rather than living life how the white people instructed. Through this, African Americans started to develop my ideals, and the African American Civil Rights Movement progressed towards social equity.
"I Have a Dream" Speech
Whenever my name comes up, people often think of the speech that I made on the 28th August 1963, later called "I Have a Dream." I gave this speech in Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. All through the speech, I informed the people about the injustices that my race was confronting. The Emancipation Proclamation had freed a large number of Negro slaves, yet they had not truly seen freedom. Africans Americans were still tied down and bounded by the segregation laws and the acts of discrimination. I wanted to demonstrate that in the course of the last one hundred years there had been no positive changes in the status of African Americans and how unjust this was. Americans viewed the blacks as a bad race, and this was degrading and wrong. I wanted to encourage Americans to uphold the promises they made. It was the "time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice", and America needed to "make justice a reality for all of God's children" (King). Overlooking the extreme urgency of the matter was highly fatal. The African Americans' discontent and outrage would not end until we received freedom and equality. I also wanted the people to know that there were alternatives to achieving this freedom and equality rather than through violence. We needed to "conduct our struggle with dignity and discipline." Violence would not solve any problem; on the contrary, it would only beget more violence. I convinced the people to march forward and continue the struggle for equality. I had a dream that our nation would live out the true meaning of the Constitution.
A Lasting Legacy
My achievements, my works, and the example that I set changed the world Americans lived in and helped develop a better relationship between races. My life enlightened people concerning the significance and the true value of freedom. I believed that if the world was without equal rights, justice, and freedom, then it was our responsibility to change it, yet it took sacrifice. I imagined something that numerous people amid my era could not comprehend; I saw a possibility of progress for minorities all through our nation. Rather than sitting and waiting for a change as most did, I took action and inspired a revolution. This change, I believed, was well overdue. People viewed desegregation in the South as an impossible task. Although numerous people, even African Americans, bombarded me with ridicule, I disregarded their negativity and strived to achieve my dream. My vision of equality was presented and attempted in the years before me, yet none ended up being effective because of the strict laws made by Southern authorities as well as the violent methods that they used. Gandhi inspired my peaceful methods of protest, and they were meant to move the hearts of Americans as well as to inspire them to pursue their dreams and desires. My followers held numerous nonviolent demonstrations including sit-ins and marches to inspire change. Instead of violence, we went through four basic steps in every protest; first, we had to find the facts; second, we met and talked about the problem; third, we trained individuals to control their anger; and finally, we began a direct action or protest (King). The principle expectation of the demonstrations was to get our point across in a peaceful manner. Despite our peaceful convictions, a few occasions prompted brutality by the police and racist associations; however, I still believed that "non-violent direct action, working through the courts, and working through legislative processes would be extremely helpful in bringing about a desegregated society" (Warren).
A Vision for the Future
I may be the most important individual to have made a notable change in the fight for African American rights. I had extraordinary passion and courage to end the prejudice and segregation that existed in the country, and I influenced every African American to challenge white supremacy. Also, my faith in nonviolence prompted the Civil Rights Movement's success. The strictness of the detachment between African Americans and Caucasians needed to be brought into attention, and individuals living under the segregation system soon developed a conviction of racial equity. As I confronted numerous obstacles in my path such as being detained and encountering many life-ending situations due to assassination attempts, I continued on my path to achieve my vision. Through my consistent determination, I displayed my everlasting duty to the African American community and my high standards and expectations. I managed to give hope to the African Americans, and I was willing to apply great measures to stop the racial intolerance and segregation that existed in the USA. As I challenged racial discrimination and the laws of segregation, I proved myself as a compelling force by being committed, determined, and persuasive. The hatred and brutality of some only increased my hunger and desire as well as that of my followers to continue marching forward and achieve our goal. My supporters and I decided that we would no longer allow people to ignore such oppression. This would end up benefiting not only African Americans but also every other oppressed individual in the world. I pushed and pushed, and in the long run observed the hearts of my fellow Americans gradually change; finally, we were free. Unfortunately, similar to many men before me, I would not witness my vision in full effect. Hopefully, my dream lives on in every American heart regardless of their race or ethnicity.
Fig. 1.Martin Luther King quote. Web. 12 April 2017, http://www.lovethispic.com/blog/6328/50-best-martin-luther-king-jr-quotes
Works Cited
King, Martin Luther. "A Time to Break Silence." 4 April 1967, New York.
King, Martin Luther. "I Have A Dream." 28 August 1963, Washington.
King, Martin Luther. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." 12 April 1963, Alabama.
Warren, Robert Penn. "Who Speaks For The Negro." Interview with Martin Luther King. 18 March 1964.
