Matthew Guard

Prof. Artis
English 1201
Fall Semester 2015
August twenty-eighth, nineteen sixty three, a man by the name of Martin Luther King
made a speech that went down in history as the I have a dream speech. A hundred years earlier
the Emancipation Proclamation gave hopes of freedom to the black men and women that were
forced into slavery in the southern states. Here it was a hundred years later and not much had
changed for blacks in America. There was segregation in the schools and in businesses, the
leaders of this nation were not upholding the words of the very constitution that was to give ALL
Americans equality. Martin Luther King had a grander vision, not just for blacks but for every
American, which we as a people would unite as one group of people. People who judge people
by their character instead of the color that their skin happens to be. Most importantly, Martin
asked that there be no violent protests in the process of achieving equality, but more peaceful
options. Martin did warn though that if things went on as they did, violence would be inevitable.
Flash forward to two thousand and nine, America has elected its first black president and
the speech that he gave at his inauguration implies that there is still work to be done on the home
front, There are still inequality issues plaguing our country that are hindering any progress
forward as a nation. This issue seems to be a much smaller portion of President Obamas speech,
giving way to other big issues such as our economic crisis, health care and the war on terror still
raging in the Middle East. Both speeches urged for the unity of the people of our great nation.

Both Martin Luther Kings and Obamas speech had a sense of urgency about them. Obamas
speech had more of a broad urgency for Americans to not only work together to fix our country
but to help out other countries in need as well. The problem that Martin Luther King, and all
black men and women, faced was more specific and while a lot has changed since then, there are
still issues of race hindering the growth of this country. We are the most powerful nation in the
world, the advancement we have made in science are astounding. But what does all this really
amount to when we are still focusing on the color of ones skin?