On Friday, we spent nearly the entire class time discussing the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. It has been 40 years since the death of Dr. King, and about 45 years since spoke to the nation about his dream. So, in 2008 can we say that Dr. King's dream has become a reality? What evidence do we have today that his dream has come true? Or, do we have further to go to reach that dream? If you don't feel his dream has come true yet, what do you think still needs to be done? Can we do anything to help the relationship between blacks and whites improve?
Remember, I want to know what you think and feel. I'm not looking for memorized answers or for you to tell me what you learned from the video. I am providing links to both of the speeches that we discussed and to the video that we watched. I encourage you to watch and listen. In fact, encourage your parents and siblings to watch and listen with you. It's important to always reflect on holidays that celebrate those that have sacrificed their lives to make our world a better place.
"I Have a Dream" speech: http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
"I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech: http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm
The entire video from class: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/search/assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=9296ED9A-CF46-42F1-BBC3-EFABFB353D0C Remember, you'll need a password for this.
Write well – no slang or IM style writing.
24 comments:
darnet i wanted to have a conversation with someone not be the first one to blog, ohh well.
Since the 1960 we have deffinatley come a long way, but i do think there is some improvements to be made. Like today there is still discrimination against not only blacks but women, ethnic backgrouds and more. So we can we have taken steps to Dr. Kings "dream" but i don't think everyone has truly learned there lesson not to descriminate.
I think we need just need to take action or enforce the law. The more we try to take action the less it will happen.
darnet i wanted to have a conversation with someone not be the first one to blog, ohh well.
Since the 1960 we have deffinatley come a long way, but i do think there is some improvements to be made. Like today there is still discrimination against not only blacks but women, ethnic backgrouds and more. So we can we have taken steps to Dr. Kings "dream" but i don't think everyone has truly learned there lesson not to descriminate.
I think we need just need to take action or enforce the law. The more we try to take action the less it will happen.
Wow.
I just listened to the "I Have A Dream" speech.
It was really interesting to listen to MLK talk about racial equality and to hear him speak about standing up to racial injustice with nonviolence. What made it really special though, was hearing some voices from the crowd shout their agreement. It made the whole thing seem more real to me.
I think that Dr. King's dream has just started to really unfold. Black children, asian children, hispanic children, and white children can all go to school together. People of different races can eat in the same places, watch movies at the same theaters, and drink from the same water fountains. This, I think, is that first important step to racial equality.
But I also feel that Dr. King meant more than just integrated public areas--he meant building strong relationships.
A lot of times, people are afraid to talk or meet someone who is different from them. Whether that person has a different skin color, a different accent, or different clothing, sometimes people find it hard to befriend someone so different from themselves.
Dr. King wanted people to take steps to get over their fears. He wanted them to learn more about different cultures and places, to not be afraid just because someone is different than you.
Taking steps to learn about other people and to better understand different people will help to build better relationships between races.
Good work Trevor and Kaitlin. Kaitlin, I'm glad that you listened to the speech. Your comment really shows a great deal of thought and understanding of issue.
I was out on a field trip Friday so I missed the speeches in class but I just listened to them.
I believe that MLK's dream is coming true. However we still have a long way to go before all men or women, black or white can treat anyone and everyone as the equal that they really are. Many things show that MLK's dream is coming true. Throughout the USA, state and federal governments have changed laws that allowed unequal treatment and practices toward minorities. There are not places today that are for whites only any more. Also many companies are helping improve the lives of those less fortunate such as Good Will, many churches and fundraisers are helping provide for others who need help. We still have some work to do before we reach MLK's dream because some people are still afraid of people who are diferent from them. He wanted us to undestand that we are all created equal and that our appearance should not judge who we are.
I agree with Trevor that we have come a long way but there is still alot more improvements that we need to make. I mean in the word discrimination there is the word nation but we all need to come toghether and be a nation not just act like we are.
But I disagree with Trevor when he said that if we take action it will happen less. 1. We could never make people stop thinking bad thoughts about people or leaving people out that would be almost impossible. 2. Killing people is against the law to but people still do that to. and 3. there is no way we could stop everyone from doing it I mean we might as well just put everyone in jail. But even though Dr.King died that definitly does not mean that his words should die with him if anything they should grow stronger after every passing day.
Tyler Mitchell
I belive the we have come a long way to pursuing Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. Most places are not raceist but some places are.
If MLK Jr. had given his speech today, I think that it would have worked out better, not so many people would have died/ gotten injured.
To "complete" his dream, every man/woman has to believe that they were all created equally.
Well I think that his dream has mostly come true but not all of it because there are still racial barriers. Sure we can all eat and drink together and use everything that whites could But racists are now lurking in education.Some Whites do not want Black Children to succeed in life so they place them in regular Classes(true some of us do belong in regular classes because of State Tests). But some others do belong in more advanced classes but racist people in education make it hard for us to accel to these classes. Dr.Martin Luther King didnt want us to just eat and drink together He wanted us succeed in education together too. I think we still have some ways to go before his philosophy is complete.
I think that MLK's dream has become a reality from the 1960s because over half the world is through with racism.
Blacks and whites being friends and working with each other is evidence that his dream has come true but we still have further to go becasue there are still people that are racist.
I think part of DR. King's dreams has come true because there are still groups of the KKK still out there killing blacks and herassing them.
We can do something to help the relationship between blacks and whites improve by renforcing what Dr. King believed in and what he said in his speeches.
Sorry forgot to put my name.
Corey
I watched the I have a dream speech and it reallymade me realize how far we'vecome. Martin luther king did so much to make sure that everyone was treated fairly. It's just so amazing how it actually came to be true.
It's hard to imagine a a world without Martin luther king doing what he did. Lot's of people and friends wouldn't be here. I agree with trevor and diarra not everyone is supporting MLK.
I can't believe how mean people used to be. It makes me happy to think how the world has progressed. I strongly agree with trevor how people should take ation to enforce the law.
I believe that Dr. King’s speeches were meant to persuade whites to consider that blacks were people too. Like Trevor said, “i don't think everyone has truly learned there lesson not to discriminate.” My friend did point out to me something on Friday. The film sort of makes me hate my race because my ancestors were racist. I agree with Ugoma (who posted before me) “I watched the I have a dream speech and it really made me realize how far we’ve come. Martin Luther King did so much to make sure that everyone was treated fairly. It's just so amazing how it actually came to be true.”
This next part is dedicated to Ugoma:
Ugoma, you nailed exactly what I was going to type next.
You really get the concept (I guess you would say) of what Martin Luther King Jr. was getting at!
Well, I have to go.
In the words of Dr. King, “ I have been to the mountain top and I have a dream!”
I think that we have such a long way from back in the times of segrigation i know there are still some people that segrigation but compared to the people that dont believe in it. its still a very small fraction. I belive that mlk's I have a dream speach isnt a dream anymore it has come true.black and white kids are going to the same school playing together going over to each other and doing alot of things together that never would have happened in the 1960 martin luther king jr.has changed all of our lives black and white and we should thank him in our hearts
sorry that was me Gage, peace
Gage, just for a question, how do you remember segragation if you weren't even born?
Or, are you talking about segregation today??
Mr. Veliz,
Does that I have a dream speech make you dislike your ancestors?
Even better, were your ancestors in the USA?
i think that mlk speech is great
i agree with katlin i think that dr. king didint just want us to be friend i think he wanted us to have a strong relationship as poeple and as humans. i think alot of people are very touched and moved by the i have a dream speech an i for one is onr of those people. dr.king wanted people to learn more about diferant cultures and places. dr.king wanted peace in the world all along. i would have loved to meet dr.king but then agin i dont think i could bear all the discrimination. i think we still have some work to do to reach everything mlk wanted the world to be like. dr.king didnt want people to to just be fiends but he wanted us to learn together and get an education together. i think dr. kings dream is still coming true. but there is still bad people in the world
but i an sure that one day we will reach what mlk wanted
well got to go eat dinner bye.
Like Trevor said, I believe we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. We haven't yet achieved MLK's dream for complete racial freedom because people still discriminate each other for their beliefs, race, color, and their gender. I think it's time to take a couple more steps forward for racial freedom again so that we can truly let MLK's dream come true. When we can all look at each other and not see the color of someone's skin, race, or gender but see who they are inside , show everyone respect, and believe that there is really only one race: the human race! We are all brothers and sisters, no matter what our beliefs, race, color, or gender. We are all human and that's what counts.
Everyone knows Martin Luther King Jr. He one of the most well know african american heroes in history. One reason why, i think,he was such a great man is because he stood up for what was right even though he knew it mit cost him his life. i don't think i would be brave enough to do something even close to what he did.
I do think that for the most part that Kings dream came true but there are still some people, of course that are still prejudice or races. i said of course because some people were raise in the way that prejudice is right and are very stroung in that belief because that all that they have ever heard and want listen to someone who thinks other wise. also, i think if you were to meet someone with this belief you shouldn't judge them beause it's probably not thier opinion, the persons who raised them
hey trevor, i was 1st last time!
dont worry, you'll get another chance. :DDD
ok. anyhow.
i listened to the "I Have a Dream" and read the whole Mountaintop speech also.
i agree with trevor on that we definetly hav come a long way, i agree with kaitlin that Dr. King meant more than just taking about the COLORED signs, and i agree with savanna in the fact that we really cant control how people act.
When Abraham took action and signed the Emancipation Proclamation, he freed blacks from slavery-but did that give them true FREEDOM? yes, blacks were no longer allowed to be enslaved, (much to the south's dismay) but they were treated just as bad on the street as they had been in the fields. Whites looked upon them in disgust. The truth is, blacks were really living just to live. They hardly had any privileges and couldn't even sit where they wanted to on a bus. Imagine having to give up your seat because you had dark skin!!! Today, there are many highly respected blacks in prestigious companies and high-paying professions. Yes, we have come a long way, its true, but blacks are still the butt of many crude jokes, and descriminated in little ways. This is AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, the land of the FREE.
The Constitution has this section called The Bill of Rights. It applies to every single person in America. In the subways of New York, the deserts of Arizona and the Keys islands, EVERYONE is included in the Constitution. Yet, Hispanics have been discriminated. Christians have been discrimated. Martin Luther King, Jr. put the spirit in the turnaround of this nation. That spirit is still heard today...but how much is it felt?
srry, on my last comment i meant to say, taking DOWN the Colored signs.
I think that his dream has for the most part his dream has come true. Anyone can go to the same resturaunt, a black man and a white man can go to the same restroom, and go to the same theater. back then nt everyone could do that. There's still a lot we can do like persuade someone that white person and black person are equal. But you really can't arrest someone for saying something racist to someone else, because we have freedom of speech
i think that Diarra makes a really good point when he says that sometimes black americans are placed in lower classes and therefore are not really able to suceed to their fullest. I never really thought about that, but since he pointed it out, i do agree.
I also agree with what Savanna wrote when she said that we can't change people, but we shouldn't let MLK's words die, instead that they should grow stronger. that was really nice savanna. :)
I agree with most of you guys that MLK was a great hero in America's history, and that the country has come a long way since then, but still has a way to go before the dream comes true. I think that the segregation that happens now may not be as obvious as it was back then, but it is still there, and hurting people.
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