Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Status of His Dream Today

On August 28, 1963, a quarter of a million people, mostly African Americans, gathered at the National Mall for The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They came to express their discontent with the persistent racism of the nation, particularly that of the southern states where Jim Crow laws maintained racially separate and unequal societies. This gathering is considered a major event within the Civil Rights movement, and a catalyst for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for subsequent protests that followed, and for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This day is most well remembered, though, for a spontaneous description of a better future given by The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during his famous I Have a Dream speech. Prompted by Mahalia Jackson, who urged him to break from his prepared words to tell the crowd about his dream, King said: I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.  I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.  I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.  I have a dream today.  I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, w ith its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. The Philosophy and Practicalities of Dr. Kings Dream Dr. Kings dream of a society no longer plagued by racism reflected the one he and other members of the Civil Rights movement hoped would be the result of collective efforts to end systemic racism. Taking account of the many initiatives that Dr. King was a part of, and leader to, during his life, one can see the components and bigger picture of this dream. The dream included an end to racial segregation; an unimpeded right to vote and protection from racial discrimination in electoral processes; equal labor rights and protection from racial discrimination in the workplace; an end to police brutality; an end to racial discrimination in the housing market; minimum wage for all;  and economic reparations for all people hurt by the nations history of racism. The foundation of Dr. Kings work was an understanding of the connection between racism and economic inequality. He knew that Civil Rights legislation, useful though it would be, would not erase 500 years of economic injustice. So, his vision of a just society was premised on economic justice writ-large. This manifested in the Poor Peoples Campaign, and his critique of government funding of wars instead of public services and social welfare programs. A virulent critic of capitalism, he advocated for a systemic redistribution of resources. The Status of the Dream Today: Educational Segregation More than fifty years later, if we take stock of the various aspects of Dr. Kings dream, it is clear that it remains largely unrealized.  Though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial segregation in schools, and a painful and bloody process of desegregation followed,  a May 2014 report from The Civil Rights Project at the University of California-Los Angeles found that schools have regressed to racial segregation over the last couple of decades. The study found that most white students attend schools that are 73 percent white, that the percentage of Black students in mostly minority schools has risen over the last two decades, that Black and Latino students are mostly sharing the same schools, and that the rise in segregation has been most dramatic for Latino students.  The study also found that segregation plays out across both race and class lines, with white and Asian students primarily attending middle-class schools, while black and Latino students are relegated to po or schools. Other studies show that black students face discrimination within schools that leads to them receiving more frequent and harsher discipline than their peers, which disrupts their educational process. The Status of the Dream Today: Voter Disenfranchisement Despite voter protections, racism still prohibits equal participation in democracy. As A. Gordon, a civil rights attorney wrote for The Root, passage of strict voter ID laws in 16 states are likely to bar many Black people from voting, as they are less likely to have state issued ID than persons of other races, and are more likely to be asked for ID than are white voters. Cuts to early voting opportunities are also likely to impact the Black population, who are more likely to take advantage of this service. Gordon also points out that implicit racial bias is likely to impact decisions made by those serving voters when issues of eligibility come up, and noted that a recent study found that legislators in support of stricter voter ID laws were more likely to respond to questions from a constituent when that person had a white name versus a name signaling Latino or African American heritage. The Status of the Dream Today: Workplace Discrimination While de jure  discrimination in the work place and hiring processes has been outlawed, de facto  racism has been documented by numerous studies over the years. Findings include that potential employers are more likely to respond to applicants with names they believe signal white race than those of other races; employers are  more likely to promote white men over all others;  and, faculty at universities are more likely to respond to prospective graduate students when they believe that person is a white male. Further, the persistent racial wage gap continues to show that the labor of white people is valued more than that of blacks and Latinos. The Status of the Dream Today: Housing Segregation Like education, the housing market remains segregated on the basis of race and class.  A 2012 study by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development  and the Urban Institute found that, though overt discrimination is mostly a thing of the past, subtle forms persist, and have clear negative consequences. The study found that real estate agents and housing providers routinely and systemically show more available properties to white people than they do to persons of all other races, and that this occurs across the nation. Because they have fewer options to choose from, racial minorities face higher housing costs. Other studies have found that Black and Latino homebuyers were disproportionately directed to unstable subprime mortgages, and as a result, were  far more likely than whites to lose their homes during the home mortgage foreclosure crisis. The Status of the Dream Today: Police Brutality In terms of police violence, since 2014, nationwide attention has turned to this deadly problem. Protests against the killing of unarmed and innocent black men and boys prompted many social scientists to revisit and republish data that show unequivocally that Black men and boys are racially profiled by police, and arrested, assaulted, and killed by officers at rates that far exceed those of other races. Critical work by the Department of Justice has brought improvements to many police departments across the nation, but the unending news of police killings of Black men and boys shows that the problem is widespread and persistent. The Status of the Dream Today: Economic Inequality Finally, Dr. Kings dream of economic justice for our nation is equally unrealized. Though we have minimum wage laws, the shift in work from stable, full-time jobs to contract and part-time work with minimum pay has left half of all Americans in or on the brink of poverty. The nightmare that King saw in the discrepancy between spending on war and spending on public services and social welfare has only gotten worse since then. And, instead of economic restructuring in the name of justice, we now live in the most economically unequal time in modern history, with the richest one percent controlling about half of all the worlds wealth. Black and Latino people continue to lag far behind white people and Asian Americans in terms of income and family wealth, which negatively impacts their quality of life, health, access to education, and overall life chances. We All Must Fight for the Dream The resurgent black Civil Rights movement, operating under the slogan Black Lives Matter, seeks to raise awareness of and combat these problems. But making Dr. Kings dream into a reality is not the work of black people alone, and it will never be a reality so long as those of us who are not burdened by racism continue to ignore its existence and consequences. Fighting racism, and creating a just society, are things for which each and every one of us bears responsibility—especially those of us who have been its beneficiaries.

Analysis Of Charles Burnett s Film, The Killer Of Sheep,...

Film is, and has been one of the most significant aspects of American culture for over one hundred years. In addition to entertainment value, film plays crucial social role in conveying the struggles, and hardships of various groups. The importance of film is constantly being changed and driven forward by filmmakers. Without influential directors, there would be no driving force making films that entertain and inform about the perspective of different groups of people. Throughout the history of film, there have been certain directors whose work was so influential it changed the entire film industry. One such director is Charles Burnett. Through his films, Burnett birthed the idea of African American film, films that are made and acted by African Americans that display the struggles of African American people. The themes and ideas that Charles Burnett featured in his films would go on to be the foundation for other filmmaker’s films during African Americans film’s rise to prominence. This paper will focus on the cornerstone themes of Burnett’s work as seen in his films The Killer of Sheep, and My Brothers Wedding. In particular, themes such as family and self-identity will be explored. Links between the themes of these films and more modern films will then be made. In order to understand the significance of Charles Burnett as a filmmaker, an understanding of the history of African Americans in film needs to be established. The origins of African Americans in film

Working for a Manager or a Leader Free Essays

If I had to make a choice between working for a Manager and working for a Leader, I would, first of all, consider working environment. If business is stable and the company needs mostly organizational administration, then a Manager can be preferable type of the superior. Managers are perfect in organizing people to achieve the goals. We will write a custom essay sample on Working for a Manager or a Leader or any similar topic only for you Order Now They are directing the work of their subordinates according to the plans, which are already established by someone else. Managers are great in performing routine activities, as well as supervising and controlling. Managers are usually the bosses, who appreciate strict order and discipline at work, and I suppose, this is very important for successful performance. But frequently business is dynamic and rapidly developing environment, which requires making a lot of risky decisions and looking for new directions all the time. In such situation, I think, it would be preferable to work for a Leader. Unlike the Managers, the Leaders know how to set up goals, motivate the employees for achieving these goals and initiate changes. Leaders can inspire their subordinates for personal improvement, support them, help them to find own place in the sun and to break a deadlock. Finally, the subordinates became the followers, who trust and understand their Leader and are ready to do the right thing. Therefore, working for a Leader brings more job satisfaction, favors personal development and can be a good challenge for ambitious employees. Bibliography:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Vikesland, G. (n.d.). Are You a Manager or a Leader? Employer-Employee. Online Information Portal. Retrieved March 9, 2007, from http://www.employer-employee.com/august2001tips.html. How to cite Working for a Manager or a Leader, Essay examples

The Darkness Out Essay Example For Students

The Darkness Out Essay I enjoyed both the test and the darkness out there, however I did prefer the tests ending because it was very unpredictable, it had a twist, and the whole story was gripping from start to finish. The darkness out there however had less drastic ending but was still powerful in its own way. I will demonstrate this in my essay by comparing the build up to both endings and the endings themselves. I will conclude on which ending I prefer and why. The tests is written in third person narrative and potrays the test of a lawyer, trying to proove a teenage boy innocent of stabbing one of his enemies. When all the evidence is stacked against him. Throught the story the writter gives you the impression that the boy is guilty , for example ; one of the witnesses testifys that I seen the boy, the one over there, running away with a knife in his hand. This evidence is compiled with other hard evidence which gives the reader reason to believe that proving the boy innocent would be near impossible . The boy however is adamant that he didnt commit the crime, and will not plead guilty even when he knows that pleading innocent could result in the death penalty. Time passes in the courtroom and the prosecution councils case seems to get stronger and stronger until Vernon Wedge ( the lawyer) has the idea of an extremely sophisticated blood test which could mean life or death for the boy. There is then a drastic twist in the ending of the story. When Vernon is about to use the test as evidence in the courtroom the prosecution objects, and his evidence is impermissible, this however is what Vernon had predicted and the prosecutions objection sways the decision of he jury. Vernon is still curious to know whether the boy is innocent or not, and wishes to go ahead with the test in his private chambers, just as he is about to commence the Father of the defendant cuts his own hand with the knife leaving he reader in an ambiguous state, and you are left draw your own conclusions. The darkness out there is a much more subtle story it tells the tale of young girl and her fears of a nearby spinney, called Packers End. Sandra and her friends have always feared the wood, whether it was beasts and witches or nazis and gypsies, they were always weary when passing it. Sandra works for a home help club where adolescents are sent in pairs to attend the houses of the elderley and it so happens that on that day she was to visit a house which backed onto Packers End. The thought of this stirs up all the fears which she had once had. She and a boy named Kerry reached the house of the old woman and began to do chores, after a while they sit down for tea and biscuits and the sweet frail old woman tells them the story of the day the nazi plane crashed in Packers End . The womans tone soon shifts to a wicked unremoriseful fiend as she explains how she and a friend found the crashed german plane with living casualty on board and did nothing to help him, as he cried in pain for over a day. This infuriates kerry and gives Sandra a new meaning to life . She learns that there is a darker side to every person and that nobody is good through and through. The two endings are very differnt but in some sences are alike. The test is compelling and almost energetic. It makes you intrested triggers acctive and deep thought as does the darkness out there. .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 , .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .postImageUrl , .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 , .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4:hover , .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4:visited , .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4:active { border:0!important; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4:active , .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4 .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u052265e885274395ccb130c71031e9c4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Discuss Shakespeare's portrayal of Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice': is he portrayed as victim or villain EssayBoth of the stories also convey the message that things ane not always as hey seem. The darkness out there is much subtler, it plays on mental fears, rather than physical fears as the test does and uses much more discriptive writting than the test. Both storys leave their readers in a state of thought, the test because you are left to dicide the verdict (giulty or not-giulty), the darkness out there because the reader is left pondering on weather Sandras thoughts are intirely realistic or not. After compairing the two endings and reading both storys I have dicided that I prefer the ending of the test. At first I did not feel satisfied after the story as it left me with no sence of compleation, but after reveiwing my thoughts I dicided that rather than be fustraed I should come to my own conclusion of the boys inocence, wich in my case was that he was giulty and the father was aware of this, which is what possessed him to cut his hand and prevent Vernon from knoring the truth. After comming to this conclusion I felt much mors rewarded and forfilled by reading the story. The darkness out there was not compelling enough and did not have enough body to test my thought pattern. I prefer storys wich have quite puzzling endings which this story did not have.