"I Have a Dream"

[Cd.]

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.

The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"


http://www.mecca.org/~crights/dream.html

[BIG GABE]

[Snouter]

"Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

What wasn't this delusional Marxist free to do in my country? He would not have been free in Africa and Middle Eastern countries, for example.

[Cd.]

Originally Posted by Snouter

What wasn't this delusional Marxist free to do in my country? He would not have been free in Africa and Middle Eastern countries, for example.

If you are referring to MLK (who was a Christian Minister and not a Marxist. Stop believing the lies that J Edgar Hoover spread about him) he was not free to eat at a white-only resturant or lunch counter. He was not free to ride at the front of a public bus, he could not go to a white movie theater, he could not stay at white motels and hotels, he could not drink at a white drinking fountain, his children could not go to white schools nor could he walk in the company of a white woman.

The world was very much divided in the Jim Crow south and in the north as well. It still remains so. If you don't believe me tell me how many black airline pilots you have seen. How many blacks are in the US Senate, I believe there is one now? Are you going to tell me that blacks are really equal in the US?

[CptTrips]

Originally Posted by Criminal

If you don't believe me tell me how many black airline pilots you have seen.

This is NOT a valid arguement. How many white rappers have you seen? Perhaps if you showed that an equal number of blacks applied for pilot postions as whites did, and that the whites overwhelmingly outpassed the blacks, you MIGHT have a case. But not yet.

Originally Posted by Criminal

Are you going to tell me that blacks are really equal in the US?

Well then, it's one thing to say "Blacks are not equal to Whites." It's another to say "Here's how to fix it:"

Does mentioning this kinda stuff do any good? Or does it stir up bad feelings from both sides of the issue? It's easy to say "we need to change." It's not easy to actually do it.

[Truth Teller]

The greatest political/social oratory ever.

Thank you for posting it Crim.


I notice Snouter had no response to your excellent awnser [I also think it takes a lot of hubris for someone to say" my country",it's our country dude].

[Snouter]

Originally Posted by Truth Teller

The greatest political/social oratory ever.

You are obviously wrong. But just to clarify where you are coming from, what do you base this opinion on?

Originally Posted by Truth Teller

I notice Snouter had no response to your excellent awnser [I also think it takes a lot of hubris for someone to say" my country",it's our country dude].

Okay I just noticed criminal's comments and will address them.

Originally Posted by Criminal

If you are referring to MLK (who was a Christian Minister and not a Marxist. Stop believing the lies that J Edgar Hoover spread about him) he was not free to eat at a white-only resturant or lunch counter. He was not free to ride at the front of a public bus, he could not go to a white movie theater, he could not stay at white motels and hotels, he could not drink at a white drinking fountain, his children could not go to white schools nor could he walk in the company of a white woman.

So Micheal King was apparently not free to eating at a lunch counter, sit in a bus, watch a movie, water fountain, hotels? That's what all that rioting and destruction was about?

There are many white people who are not free to eat at certain lunch counters in bad neighborhoods, sit in buses travelling in bad neighborhoods, watch a movie in bad neighborhoods, or stay at a hotel in bad neighborhoods, (I don't think there are water fountains around much nowadays except in Central Park maybe and that is know for roving gangs looking to rob, rape and murder from time to time). White men in the company of Black females are frequently assaulted by groups of Blacks.

That is the unfortunate situation in America and around the world. We have to rely on the cops and justice system to keep things somewhat civilized. It would be nice if a leader of some kind would demand a change to this situation, but the slightest commentary is met by the politically correct paranoids with charges of racism.

Originally Posted by Criminal

The world was very much divided in the Jim Crow south and in the north as well. It still remains so. If you don't believe me tell me how many black airline pilots you have seen. How many blacks are in the US Senate, I believe there is one now? Are you going to tell me that blacks are really equal in the US?

Since money talks, businesses naturally do what makes the most money regardless of the race of the people involved in the transactions. Jim Crow laws could not stop the "natural" laws of economic free enterprise. Free enterprise's laws are what businesses in the South conformed to since that made them money. Change was happening naturally.

I would assume there are not many Black pilots becuase they don't have a particular aptitude in that area. There are quite a few Black basketball players and the NBA has even bent the rules over the years to accomodate their style.

"I have a dream," my ass. He had a scheme and Jesse is following up on it.

[Manstein]

Originally Posted by Criminal

The world was very much divided in the Jim Crow south and in the north as well. It still remains so. If you don't believe me tell me how many black airline pilots you have seen. How many blacks are in the US Senate, I believe there is one now? Are you going to tell me that blacks are really equal in the US?

You just summed up one of the focal points of the Marxist agenda which still threatens our country to this day. The fullfillment of false equity.

Naturally, things are not equal, so we must treat them unequally ( affirmative action ) to give the false impression that they are in fact, equal.

[jojo]

I enjoy this speech and that alone does not make me anti-white.

[Truth Teller]

Why are you such an anti-Black racist Snouter?

Were you raised to be that way?

[CptTrips]

Originally Posted by Truth Teller

Why are you such an anti-Black racist Snouter?
?

I fail to see how his post is anti-black in any way.

[Truth Teller]

Originally Posted by CptTrips

I fail to see how his post is anti-black in any way.

You are one of the few.

[jojo]

Real white people love blacks.

[NJ Refugee]

Real white people love blacks.

Real people don't give a f*ck about skin color. They neither love nor hate based on the color of skin.

This is something that is beaten into the heads of white people around this country thru 'sensitivity' training or 'cultural awareness' training or sanctions for un-PC thoughts and statements ...

When is someone going to tell the Black community that it is their hatred of whites and blaming of whites that is truly holding them down. They are doing it to themselves; and I refuse to accept blame for their actions.

[jojo]

If you don't mind me saying so you sound a bit hateful tonight NJR.

[NJ Refugee]

If you don't mind me saying so you sound a bit hateful tonight NJR.

Hateful ?

No. Try Disgusted. (There is a difference).

Disgusted with the double standard of modern race relations in America.

[jojo]

Originally Posted by NJ Refugee

Hateful ?

No. Try Disgusted. (There is a difference).

Disgusted with the double standard of modern race relations in America.

Agreed. It is disgusting.

[CptTrips]

I agree that there is a double standard.

[GanjaFreebird]

So Micheal King was apparently not free to eating at a lunch counter, sit in a bus, watch a movie, water fountain, hotels? That's what all that rioting and destruction was about?

I don't know about your friend "Michael King", but Martin Luther King, as well as every black person in America, had hardly any of the human, constitutional, and civil rights that white people had, at least in many parts of this country.

And Jim Crow, segregation, racism...was MUCH MORE than just not being able to drink, watch a movie, or ride buses...how come you don't mention all of the lynching of people just because they happened to be black (and people who did that were not punished at all in most cases), what about bombing of a church that killed four innocent girls just because they were black? How about the anti-interracial marriage/relationship laws and what was done to the black people who broke these rules? Don't try and play "segregation wasn't a big deal" game, because it is an insult to every human being that went through that. At least 86dude have said that segregation was unconstitutional and that all of the jim crow bs was wrong and should have been removed, even though he hates Dr. King for whatever reasons. What about you? Can you be honest about why you REALLY HATE KING FOR, or else condemn segregation, jim crow and anti-black racism in the same way you condemn anti-white racism?

There are many white people who are not free to eat at certain lunch counters in bad neighborhoods, sit in buses travelling in bad neighborhoods, watch a movie in bad neighborhoods, or stay at a hotel in bad neighborhoods, (I don't think there are water fountains around much nowadays except in Central Park maybe and that is know for roving gangs looking to rob, rape and murder from time to time).

First of all, why would a person do all these things in bad neighborhoods anyways?

Second, there are many white people who live in bad neighborhoods too, yet they do all of the following things, and nobody (unless induvidual criminals) prevent them from doing so.

I have plenty of white friends who lived in poor, mostly black neighbourhoods, and guess what, I haven't heard one story about "black criminals attacking them for nothing", and in fact, they rarely if ever dealt with any kind of racism. Sure there are racists, criminals, a$$holes from every color, and that including black, but can you blame a whole group of people that just share the same skin color with what induvidual bad people do? Or can you blame it on "government laws that supposedly tell black people to discriminate against white people"?

White men in the company of Black females are frequently assaulted by groups of Blacks.

HAHAHAHA. I never heard about anything like that. I'm sure that it may happen sometimes (again, by induvidual racist a$$holes, not the government or state, or a majority of Black people), but I can tell 100 stories that I personaly know, without even going into deep memmories, about black guys who got into sh!t for hooking up with white girls, while I can't think of one case where a white guy who hooked up with a black girl was attacked by black people for that.

In fact, the girl I'm talking to now (and hopefully will date) is half African-American, and I have yet to be attacked by "black criminals" for that. Hell, I never even been phisically attacked by "blacks" in my life, only by white people, and the only time a black guy was involve (and later appologized to me) was when a white guy (with a failed attempt to rob me) used him as a backup. Sure I've dealt with a$$holes of all colors, but I have yet to experience the "significance of black criminals", espeically since most a$$holes I've met in my life happened to be white as snow. Not to say that I have anything against white people, since a whole lot of my friends and best friends are white, but anti-black racist theories sure as hell are false when it comes to my life.

[CptTrips]

GanjaFreebird, bypassing the swear filter does not do anything to further your argument; rather, it shows how weak your argument really is by outlining your need to use profanity to make a point.