MLK Lit Task

On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. Some protesters, most civil right activists, but all were there for Martin Luther King’s speech. The I Have A Dream speech is arguably his most famous and most impactful. This speech crowned King’s idea of racial equality for all of America. King wanted to see a quick change with how people of color were treated, but in 2016 has this image been met? I would argue it has not and will take years and years to be established. Since then there have been a lot of issues lifted, but people of color are still living in a world of racism.

After centuries of institutionalized racism--slavery, Jim Crow laws, segregation, slurs, police brutality, threats, and stereotypes--it is still an issue rooted in hate that has caused a multitude of problems and will continue to. A very prominent example of racism that has been happening today is police brutality against black people. Unarmed black Americans are more than twice as likely to be killed than white people and more than half of the people who have faced police brutality are minorities. Because of this deep rooted idea that black people are inherently criminals and thus are more likely to be targeted by police officers. It will most likely take ages to reverse this idea. Yet, people of color have to live in an almost constant fear of being attacked by someone who is supposed to be protecting them. People of color shouldn’t have to worry about how they’re walking or how they’re dressed or how they talk in fear that they could be unrightfully attacked by a police officer.

Black people also feel like they don’t have equal opportunities in the workplace and out of it. 76% of black people in a recent poll said they felt they have a lower chance of getting a job because of their race. While 87% of black people felt they didn’t have equal justice. Like what was stated before, it will take ages to get rid of this deep rooted history of racism and the idea that black people are less intelligent, trustworthy, and suitable for jobs. Even though racism is far from ending, and Martin Luther King’s idea of racial equality is far from being reached, it has come a long way and with the help from officials and politicians issues such as police brutality and stereotypes can be taken care of.

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