Katelyn Ingram
COM 3330-05
Manguno
April 21, 2011
Today at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech about his dream for equality and an end to racial oppression to a crowd of thousands of listeners.
He began his speech nostalgically with the mention of the Emancipation Proclamation which gave such hope and promise to so many African Americans. Yet, “one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free” said King.
King uses the analogy that our nation’s capital is a bank and that there seems to be “insufficient funds” for the African American people. Yet, said King, the Negros refuse to believe it and will cash their check that allows them freedom.
King calls for the urgency of justice and fairness for all of God’s children. He pleads for equal rights and says that the Negro nation will not rest until they receive these rights.
In the next part of his speech, King beings to address his supporters and his fellow African Americans by telling them that in order to gain rights they must still be respectful of the law. He then reminds the audience that not all white people are to blame for this injustice and that must be kept in mind.
King answers the question of when will the Negro be satisfied by saying not until justice is served to all Americans. Then begins the most powerful part of his speech that moved the crowd to tears: his dream.
King said that his dream “is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” King dreams for peace for his children, for an end to slavery, for a bond between the white and the black, and for justice.
Faith is all that is needed to overcome the obstacle of oppression, according to King. And once freedom is gained, the Negro will be able to say “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
