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With The Obama Presidency. . .Has the “Dream” Been Realized?
Many people celebrated Obama’s inauguration as a great step in the realization of “Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.” Many of those who oppose the oppression of Black people, deep in their heart and their guts, see his presidency as paving the way to the day when Black people can fully participate in society as equals. Some say the election is a big step in changing the hearts and minds of white people so that they will see Black people as people, as human beings. Others, meanwhile, go so far as to claim that the election proves that America now only judges people not “by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (to quote King’s “I Have a Dream” speech)...and that any more talk about oppression is “just an excuse.” And all those celebrating—including, of course, Obama himself—claim this shows the superiority of the American Constitution. King himself cast his dream as a dream that America “live out the true meaning of its creed” as spelled out in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. So, does Obama’s election signal a major step toward realizing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream? We’re going to analyze that. And to really get into that, we are going to have to raise a further question: is the dream that King laid out 45 years ago one that can lead to emancipation? Or is it in fact a snare, or worse—one that people should reject, and take up something -different?
Many people celebrated Obama’s inauguration as a great step in the realization of “Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.” Many of those who oppose the oppression of Black people, deep in their heart and their guts, see his presidency as paving the way to the day when Black people can fully participate in society as equals. Some say the election is a big step in changing the hearts and minds of white people so that they will see Black people as people, as human beings. Others, meanwhile, go so far as to claim that the election proves that America now only judges people not “by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (to quote King’s “I Have a Dream” speech)...and that any more talk about oppression is “just an excuse.” And all those celebrating—including, of course, Obama himself—claim this shows the superiority of the American Constitution. King himself cast his dream as a dream that America “live out the true meaning of its creed” as spelled out in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. So, does Obama’s election signal a major step toward realizing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream? We’re going to analyze that. And to really get into that, we are going to have to raise a further question: is the dream that King laid out 45 years ago one that can lead to emancipation? Or is it in fact a snare, or worse—one that people should reject, and take up something -different?
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