Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a tribute to a man who fought for freedom some 100 years earlier, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He inspired a crowd of both blacks and whites to embrace the freedom spoken of by the forefathers in the Declaration of Independence and to strive for liberty for all people.
As King addressed the multitude that had gathered there in Washington, D.C., his cries were heard by the whole nation and his words still speak to the world today. To gain a firm hold in equal opportunity is a goal we must always achieve. For this reason, it is worthwhile to examine whether King’s dream has come true, or if American liberty for all is a dream still waiting to become reality.
In his famous speech, King spoke of his faith in the nation and particularly his faith in the South to rise above racial prejudices: “With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together.”
King was aware of “the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence” that guarantee the rights of all men to succeed and fail with equal opportunity. This country now fully grants these rights-so much now that the face that serves as the chief representative of America abroad is the face of a black man.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is a fine example of what America has become 40 years later. He is a fine example that King’s dream of an America that stands by its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal,” has become reality.
King fought against the racism of a government whose practices singled out a group of citizens and denied them their rights. Racism in government was the direct result of racism of individuals. King could and did fight the racist establishment, yet the racism of individuals is almost entirely uncontrollable. Racists have always existed and always will.
King said, “In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
King stressed that the need to fight would end when “the bright day of justice emerges.” He said that satisfaction would come when “justice rolls down like waters.” Now that the bright day has come, the need to fight is over, and there should be satisfaction in what has been achieved.
Today we must choose to let these waters of justice continually wash over us. We must not choose to go back and stare at the cesspool of segregation that America once was, lest we fall in and stir the waters.
Anyone that claims King’s dream for America and the South has not been realized has turned back the clock and is guilty of breeding contempt by arousing bitterness in a no-longer oppressed people.
May racism give way to compassion and sensibility in the hearts of the racist individual. May forgiveness prevail in the hearts of the wronged. Let gratitude and thankfulness of a realized dream be the guide of the once oppressed, not bitterness of past injustice.
Michael Stewart is a junior philosophy and religion major.