Bryan Badgley
54351 SE Walnut Ave
3/19/2016
Mrs. Gardner
Highline College
Des Moines, WA 98198
Dear Mrs. Gardner:
Discrimination is still prominent in the world we live in today. The issue of discrimination was even more drastic back during the time of segregation and when Martin Luther King Jr. was leading the movement to stop unjust actions against African Americans in the United States of America. Martin Luther King Jr. had many speeches during the time when he lead the march on Washington, but the most influential of all is his speeches is “I Have a Dream” spoken at the capitol in Washington D.C. This speech gave the purpose behind my writing on discrimination. When Martin Luther King Jr. gave this speech to the country he showed that African Americans can and are overcoming the injustices of segregation. He showed that the movement had answers to the three questions you should have answers for in life if you are headed on the right track. Who are you, what are you doing, and where are you going. I believe that since these questions were answered without wavering or doubt from Martin Luther King Jr. and the people in his movement they were so successful in reversing so many years of discrimination.
Who you are? This is one of the main questions in life that anyone should be able to answer. This question is and was answered in Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream” for not only himself but all the people that were supporting what he was doing to rise above discrimination in America. During a part of his speech Martin Luther King Jr. said, “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (Martin). This first example of the speech given by Revered King exemplified that African Americans knew who they were during this time under the guidance of King. They knew that they were African Americans and they were proud of it and we're going to be able to exercise all of the unalienable rights given to them by the documents that our country was founded on. I connect to this in my personal life. I am a person that does not accept injustice, I also will not let other people define who I am through names or other forms of slander, I am who I am. In addition there is another example in Revered King’s speech that shows how African Americans knew who they were and were not going to be defined by discrimination. Revered King said, “One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an shameful condition.” (Martin). When Reverend King was speaking here he showed the unity of the people following him against discrimination and not having the same rights as white people and how they want to stop these unjust acts. I believe he goes deeper on the subject showing where they have came from generations before their time showing that a lot has not changed in the aspect of their rights as an American citizen but they have become more powerful and unified as time has went on to stop this tyranny in America.
What are you doing? This is another main question in life that everyone should be able to answer. I also feel that this question is answered in Revered King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. King had a huge movement behind him during this time when they were marching on Washington to stop discrimination in America. During his speech King said, “In a sense we've come to our nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.” (Martin). When I read this statement from Martin Luther King Jr. it really resonates with me and gives me a picturesque example that the movement he was heading had a clear idea of what they were trying to accomplish if life. The bold and brave men and women wanted to not only fight for recognition of the government that they were equal but so they could get rid of discrimination for generations to come in the future. I can relate to this in my personal life because everyday I am fighting to get a good education so I can hopefully someday contribute to America so it will be even more prosperous down the road for future generations. In addition to this example King also said, “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.” (Martin). What King is saying here not only shows what they are trying to do, which is come to Washington to get the government to proactively do something about discrimination, but it also shows how devoted the movement is to the cause of overcoming and ending discrimination as a unified body of people that know who they are and what they are fighting for.
Lastly, but probably the most important question that is the hardest to answer in life is where are you going? I also feel that Revered King in his speech “I Have a Dream” truly answers this questions not only for himself but for most of the people in his movement. The best example of this is when Martin Luther King Jr. said this, “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.” (Martin). What Revered King said here gives an impactful visual example of where they are coming from and going to as a unified group under him. This shows the purpose of rising up from discrimination, overcoming it for the protection of newer generations. This truly answers all the questions, who you are?, what are you doing?, and where are you going all in one quote. This summarizes that African Americans during these times were able to answer all these questions in life and that gave them the power to rise above discrimination because they would not let themselves be defined by others that were trying to hurt them.
Sincerely,
Bryan Badgley
Works Cited
"Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech August 28 1963." Web. 19 Mar. 2016.
