Racism! The people of America know the bad, and ugly of the injustices of racism. This issue is not one to be teased or laughed about, but one that should be talked about seriously. There has been a huge change in the way Americans react to racism and there are many lessons this nation has learned about the effects of racism. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama share four main views on this issue; wanting more for children, race as an issue in America, racial divide due to some “thing,” and racial divides having a negative effect on this nation.
To begin, the first topic that both MLK and Obama share is wanting better for the children. Society knows that children are the nation’s future. President Obama states that people should not refer to the black American children as those children but our children. Another great example is, Obama wants better schools for children of all races. Also, all issues surrounding segregated schools will be fully deteriorated. Fifty years after Brown vs. the Board of Education Obama still sees imperfect schools that seem to segregate children. President Obama sees that there are many sick children in the country that are without health care, mostly due to poverty. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, states that he has a dream that his children will be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. Having this said, if the “race card” is out and the personality and content of character is put in, the nation can begin to grow into a more perfect United States of America. Stripping the children, of different races, of their selfhood and robbing their self dignity is a great example of what did and still does happen when we the people subject them to racism. The nation as a whole is learning that all children Black, White, Latino, and Asian can make this country a better place.
Race being an issue that cannot be ignored is the next topic in the hot seat. Race cannot and should not be an issue but, face it, it is. For example, Dr. King says, “One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free:…..The Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land” (King, I Have a Dream). King states in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, that “black Americans have too often faced injustices in the court systems and that the courts seem to not care that there has been too many bombings of the Negro homes and churches.” The constitution states that all men are created equal yet, white people decided that the black Americans are not allowed to vote. On the contrary, President Obama’s points are made during the aftermath of racial injustices and gives examples of how race is still an issue. He states that there is still a gap between the reality of time and the promises that have been made. During Obama’s campaign many made race a HUGE issue and some people of this “new” America were commenting, he is not “black enough” or is “too black.” American people today use language that widens the racial gap and offends both the black and white communities. It is obvious that although the nation has overcome segregation and has learned that race should not be an issue, the reality is that the issue remains.
Next, looking at racial divide, the nation has learned that this is an injustice to the people. President Obama sees racial divide today due to anger and resentment from both black-Americans and white-Americans. In the view of the black American there is anger put upon a person due to the harshness of the reality that once was and the reality of now. Black-Americans are angry for the racial injustices that were put upon them and now want and deserve justice. White Americans are resentful for what they feel they are giving up. Whites are resentful of the fact that they are now laid off or simply not offered a job because a black American wants it. Due to anger and resentment from black and whites alike Obama says, “This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years” (Obama). An example from the days where segregation was visible, Martin Luther King Jr., sites the Declaration of Independence. He states, “This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King). This shows a strong and non-argumentative divide between people due to the color of their skin. There was gigantic racial divide due to just and unjust laws of the time. Dr. King describes an unjust law as a law that collides with moral and Godly laws. An unjust law is just the opposite; it does not collide with moral law. He then goes about explaining segregation and what makes it unjust. Segregation is unjust because it is morally wrong and sinful. Black Americans were living in the unjust society that was considered a “perfect” America where men were considered equal.
As the last important point shared by President Barack Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., racial divides not being a help to the nation and its growth. Dr King states “It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed-…”(King). He is saying that the injustices of segregation are not doing anything valuable for the nation. From King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he tells us that black Americans were frustrated about the injustices they were facing and that in turn were loosing faith in America. King also states that until the Negro is given his/her rights as an American there will never be rest. On the other hand President Obama speaks about the “race card” of today’s reality and how people are throwing it out. He states that if the card is still being thrown how the nation can never change and never grow to become one united and perfect nation. The simple fact that race played a factor in Obama’s campaign has negative effects on America. Here he is the 44th President and American people have yet to think about how many other Black, Hispanic or Asian men and women could have been great leaders for our country. People have made such a deal about race that it is very possible that we have missed out on leaders that could have made this country one that no longer looked at race. President Obama says that comments and issues that came to a head during campaign time have really shown that racial issues have never been completely worked through. Clearly, America needs to learn that for the nation to grow and continue facing problems and issues, all the people, Black, White, Latino, and Asian have to be a team of one nation under God.
Again, President Barack Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. share similar outlooks on race and how it affects the nation. Racial injustice was alive and in action just forty years ago and today in 2009 the nation seems to be just beginning the healing process. Now I leave you with the end of President Obama’s “A More Perfect Union.” “I am here because of Ashley. By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children. But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.” Where will you start? How will you help the nation grow?
