I Have a Dream

- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68)

           

One hundred years ago, President Abraham Lincoln declared that the slaves in the United States of America were free. It gave them joy. But Negroes are still not free. They are discriminated everywhere by the whites and they are still very poor. They are the exiles in their own land.

            The American constitution has guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all the citizens. But America has failed to provide the rights to the Negroes. It is time to end the racial injustice and develop brotherhood between the Whites and the Negroes. Only then, the promises of Democracy will become real.

            If America does not fulfill the demands of the Negroes for equality and justice, the result will be terrible. The Negroes should be granted the citizenship rights. Otherwise, peace will not return in the country.

It is important to get the demands fulfilled by means of peaceful movement. Physical violence should not take place. It is also important not to distrust all white people because there are some Whites who support the Negroes.

            King says that they want the police to stop beating Negroes. They also want the Negroes to be able to stay in any hotel in the country. They want the Negroes to be able to improve their position in the society, to be able to vote and to have Negroes to vote for.

            The Negroes who are suffering police brutality should be hopeful for getting freedom. So, they should not be sad. They should go back their homes and work for change.

            King says that despite the difficulties and frustrations he has a dream that is deeply rooted in American dream. He has a dream that one day all people will be treated equally. The Negroes and the Whites will be able to sit down together like brothers and that everyone will be free. He has a dream that his four children will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by their actions.

            If America is to be a great country, all people in all the different places must be free. All people, of all colours and religions, must be able to join hands and sing together, “We are free at last!”
(see video of I Have a Dream)