Introduction:
Martin Luther King fought for the rights and privileges
of the negroes in America in a non-violent manner. In
1963 he addressed a mammoth gathering of 2,50,000
Americans of many faiths, races and creeds. He stressed
the path of non-violence in his address.
The dishonoured promissory note
King begins by mentioning the Emancipation
Praclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln a hundred years
ago. The proclamation was a beacon of light to the negro
slaves. But the negroes are still suffering. The long night
of their captivity has not yet ended. Negroes are still
languishing in the corners of American society. They are
exiles in their own land. Both the Constitution and the
Declaration of Independence granted the negroes an
equal status. King uses a commercial image to drive home
his point. He says that America has given a promissory
note or a cheque to the negroes, offering them the
rights of life'. But the cheque has come back, marked
"insufficient funds". King is sure that the 'riches of freedom'
are still available in plenty in 'the vaults of opportunity' of
path of non-violence in his address.
the nation. Next, King uses a pharmaceutical image. Giving
freedom to the Negroes by gradual degrees is dismissed
by King as a tranquillizer. He asks the Negroes not to take
this tranquillizer and slow down their fight. He asks them
not to 'rest' until they are granted all their citizenship
rights'. He also warns the government that the whirl
winds of revolt" will rock the country if their demands are
not met.
Means and ends :
In the second part of his address King stresses that
the means should be as noble as the end. He says that
the Negroes should not practise 'wrongful deeds' to gain
their 'rightful place'. They should oppose the physical
force of the government with their 'soul force' or spiritual
force. They should regard the whites as their brothers.
The Negroes should not stop or turn back. They should
not be satisfied with marginal success. They have still a
long way to go. They are discriminated against. They
cannot lodge in motels and hotels. Ghettos still exist.
Negroes in Mississippi do not have the voting right. In
many places, the negroes have nothing to vote for. Their
future is bleak. Negroes in prisons are beaten up. Police
brutality is in full swing. Yet, they should not yield to
despair. They should bear in mind that 'suffering is
redernptive'.
King's dream :
King says that he is inspired by a dream. His dream
is derived from the American Dream that all men are
created equal and should be treated equally. Racial
discrimination is rampant in Georgia.. King dreams that
there will be equality at least in the next generation in
Georgia, with the sons of former slaves sitting together
with the sons of former slave-owners at the table.
Mississippi is another hotbed of racism. King dreams of
Mississippi changing into an "oasis of freedom and
justice'. King is sore with the governor of Alabama who
tampers with the law in favour of the whites. King dreams
of an Alabama where black boys and girls will play with
white boys and girls as brothers and sisters. Finally,
using Biblical images, King says that he dreams of a time
when high mountains will be made low and valleys be
raised high. That is, he dreams of the disappearance of
social and economic disparities. Using a musical
image, he says that in future the inimical blacks and
whites will join together and form a harmonious society,
as jangled discords' join into a 'beautiful symphony'.
King dreams of the time when not only negroes and
whites but also Jews and Gentiles, and Catholics and
Protestants will join together and sing, 'Free at last.
Thus King dreams of the dawn of universal
brotherhood.
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