Once a Dream, Always a Dream - Is Martin Luther King's dream still alive today?

Essay by zeitgeistCollege, UndergraduateA+, April 2004

download word file, 3 pages 4.3

Once a dream, Always a dream

Martin Luther King Junior, the influential American civil-rights leader, gave his famous speech "I have a dream" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th, 1963. King spoke of an America where "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers." Sadly, King was killed before he was able to see his dream come true, but has this dream come true today? Martin Luther King Junior wanted a United States free from the chains of racial injustice, a place where everyone was equal; however, this dream remains unfulfilled today due to unfair Affirmative Action practices. In his speech King stressed equality for people of all races, not once did he mention benefits and programs that would be based on the color of ones skin.

King mentioned in his speech that he hoped the nation would be able to live up to the words the Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence "all men are created equal." The dream of Martin Luther King Junior continues to remain a dream; consequently, it will remain as such as long as there are special benefits and privileges for people based on the color of their skin.

King's "I have a Dream" speech preached for a United States of America free from racial injustice, a place where everyone was equal. This dream of King's has yet to have become complete today. Affirmative Action, the practice of giving benefits to a person solely on race, is a widely used practice in the United States to give minorities an unfair advantage in the workplace, education and other aspects of society. King had stressed a society where everyone had an equal...