Genine Murray English Summary April 11, 2014

50th Anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" Speech

President Barack Obama recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s infamous "I Have A Dream" speech. Speaking about the history of this speech, the President reminded the audience that the march on Washington in 1963 was not just a stand for the injustices of a few, but for the many. People came from all over the country on August 28th, 1963 to Washington D.C., to fight for the equality of all. Many people came with little to no money in their pockets for bus tickets, and others hitchhiked because of having no money at all. This march was led by Dr. King, who provided hope for those in despair, in a time when justice for all people did not exist. This fight was not only led by Dr. King, but gained the participation of ordinary people who experienced segregation every day, and believed in this cause so much that they were willing to go to jail for its success. The people were hoping on that day to awaken the government to the injustice and inequality in the world. The President went on to talk about Dr. King and how he was an instrument, using himself to give voice to those who were oppressed and had hopes of gaining a better path than the one they were on. He spoke of how Dr. Kings words were powerful and still unequalled in this world today. President Obama recognized those unheard of on television because they are just regular people, but who contributed to this cause as well. These were people who were accustomed to segregation in school and other situations; who had no voting rights; who were soldiers who fought for freedom in the war, but unable to have that freedom in their own country. The President pointed out that, not only did this movement inspire change for Civil rights, but it led to voting rights, which then led

to educational and economic opportunities for sons and daughters. Change did not stop then, but continued from state legislation to the White House. The speech then referred to those who paved the way with their courage from maids to laborers, and those who put themselves in danger for millions of Americans who are living today. Those who fought for the rights we have today, are taken for granted by the young people of today. President Obama recognized that we have made progress up to today and to say that we have not would be a dishonor to the memory of Dr. King and others who fought for this freedom. The freedom that Dr. King spoke of for all people, was not won by complacency, but by the courage of the people to stand up for what was right. If we are to continue this fight and make it even better, we too will have to have that same courage. The Civil Rights movement was born because of that march in 1963, affording many people opportunities that they would not otherwise have today. President Obama's speech acknowledges that there has been definite change in America not only for blacks but for all other people as well, including those that are gay, straight, black, white, men and women. Change has come all the way up to the White House because of the endurance of those who were willing to fight and struggle for our freedom. We have made much progress from back then to here with the fighters like Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and others. The President stressed that, although we have made great strides in this country and many barriers have been torn down, it would be a mistake to think that we do not have further to go. The speech continues to stress that we cannot afford to be complacent but have to continue the fight in order to make sure injustices continue to be changed. Economic opportunities and decent pay should be afforded to all people so they can have affordable housing and a good education. The dream that Dr. King had was not just a vision for black people, but all people. American jobs have been stamped out, leaving a high unemployment rate for Blacks and Latinos. Education needs to be a focus in

order for young people to be able to get better jobs, and have better health care. There is still a gap between the wealthy and the middle class, which needs to be bridged. According to President Obama, we need to learn to hold each other up and pull each other along to continue this struggle together until we have achieved equality for all people. He spoke on the fact if we can stand together and not apart that we can continue the journey that Dr. King dreamed about. We have to find courage and wisdom in order to continue to make this a better America. After all, according to the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, and in order to continue the struggle, this country must have the courage to continue the change.

Backstabbing, Over and Over Again

I give it as my candid opinion, that had Carthage been well united and had given him [Hannibal] good support, he would have carried that cruel and barbarous city by storm [referring to Rome] But they were disunited, as a coloured people are now, in the United States of America, the reason our natural enemies are enabled to keep their feet on our throats. David Walkers above statement is again, one of truth even today. Reflecting on the thoughts that this statement encompasses could not be any closer to the truth. In one of the previous articles that I read before in class, it talked about a revolt being led in order to help the slaves escape to freedom, however, due to the betrayal of a black person, this plan was thwarted. There is little support in the Black community, and there is a lot of jealousy that happens within the community. People are no longer happy that their neighbors are successful, but rather, there is an attitude of I have to get more so I can be better than they are. There is no support when it comes to the successes of our young people, everything is a competition. We are our own worst enemy. Also, there is no leadership in the community. In the black community, you see a lot black leaders trying to emerge within the community to assist. However, you dont know if they are doing it out of sincerity, or out of the need for power. You cannot get people within the black community to lend support to those black leaders who may be trying to up-build the community along with our youth. Mr. Louis Farrakhans speech pointed out that Black leaders needed to make a contract with the people in the community to let them know they are on their side. There has to be a trust factor within the community.

According to what Walker said in his article, it is important that black citizens stop trying to block black leadership. If that leadership continues to be blocked, then there can be no change and the community cannot blossom. We have to learn to get along and have each others back or we will never get to where we want to go. We will never accomplish any goals that need to be completed if we dont stop being jealous and selfish in our thinking. We have to learn to have self love so that we can share that love with others in the neighborhood. Basically, black on black love is the key to have unity.

A Generational Curse

David Walker clearly articulated that unless the circumstances (slavery, racism, and disenfranchisement) of the 19th century were changed, the consequences to the black community, and therefore the nation as a whole, would be not only devastating but generational. . . . then if they had left them [African slaves] entirely to the Lord, and add to their miseries deep down into which they have plunged them, tell them, that they are inferior and distinct race of beings, which they will be glad enough to recall and swallow by and by. When we first had to read this material, it had an impact on me. First of all, to have someone back in that time period with this kind of knowledge was baffling. I reflected on certain words in the above paragraph. The black community, unless it saw change, would in fact, not only be devastating, but generational; that is such a heavy statement. In learning what Walker meant, I compared his statement to what is going on in the black community today, and those words definitely hold true. I see today, those sons and daughters being a product of the mentality that people consider us inferior; this is the way I am going to act. There is not much that is expected, so I am going to perform less. In the black community, people have not become more, because more was not expected. You have our ancestors that were in slavery, mentally and physically; being told they were nothing and being treated like they were less than nothing. As Walker stated in his article, that type of negativity is internalized and it works on your psyche. If you are told enough times that you are worthless or inferior, you will begin to believe it. If you believe that and internalize that, you will pass that down to your children, which is exactly the way it is today. That is not to say that many young black men and women do pull themselves out of places that I have probably never been, however, that takes will and determination. You have to find that inner strength

in order to move forward and be the person you know you can be, instead of the person people expect you to be. I know growing up, I looked at my Aunt on my mothers side, and remember her telling me when I was just 18 years of age, that I was not a real women because I had not had any children, and at the time her daughter who was 15 was pregnant. She defined herself by the number of kids she had. She only had an 8th grade education and never when back to school. In looking back on that, I remember my grandmother having that same mentality, and now it has all come together when I read Walkers words. She was only doing what she had learned, and never wanted to do anything more. I look at the young ladies in the black community having baby after baby, but having no fall back, no education. Although, we were once held in slavery, the physical chains have been broken, we have to break the mental chains. We can no longer blame someone else for what is happening to us in the black community, we have to stand up and take responsibility for ourselves. We can be more than what we have become. We just have to believe that we can. We have to educate and teach our young black men and women, that the key to success is believing in who and what you are, knowing that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. You will always have someone telling you that you are inferior and you cant do this or that, but you can always rise if you trust in yourself, learn from the misfortunes of others, and let go of those mental chains. This article for me was one of the best articles that I have enjoyed reading in class.

Differences in Style

In reading this article, I was somewhat astonished that there were distinctions between the North and South within the black community. According to this article, the Southern Blacks were considered to be uneducated, uncouth, and rude; this created a rift between the two cultures. Whites to were unwilling to accept the Southern Blacks, and did not want them migrating to the North. In order to assist the Southern Blacks with their migration to the North, there was a pamphlet given to them by the Urban League; this was to help them know what the etiquette was supposed to be. The picture below shows the difference in styles of dress as well, including the distinction of how Southern Blacks dressed and Northern Blacks dressed, and even a certain posture that was considered appropriate. I found it very interesting that there were rules that were outlined for the Southern Blacks in order for them to fit into the culture of the Northern Blacks.

Below are the list of rules that were to be followed by the immigrating Southern Blacks:

Don't carry on loud conversations or use vulgar or obscene language on the street cars, streets or public places. Remember this hurts us as a race.

Don't think you can hold your job unless you are on time, industrious, efficient and sober. Don't make loud or unnecessary noise going to and from baseball games. If the parks are taken away from you it will be your own fault.

Don't stay away from work every time someone gives a picnic or boat ride. Stay on your job. Others do.

Don't go about the streets or on the streetcars with bungalow aprons, boudoir caps and house slippers. Wear regular street clothes when you go into the streets.

Don't fail to meet the teachers of your children. Keep in touch with them. Every hateful thing that your child says about the teacher is not true.

As I was analyzing these rules, I was surprise that I agreed with the majority of them. Some might say that I could be considered a Northern Black back in that time. The rule about the loud conversation and obscene language is very important. I personally hate to see our people being loud and obnoxious. There is already a perception of how we are going to act, and when we have this behavior, it reinforces what they already think of us. I feel the same way myself. When I am around and I hear or see black people being loud, I feel embarrassed and ashamed. I say to myself, cant they act like they have a sense of pride for not only themselves but for their race? Honestly, I am not around people who act that way, or what some would classify as ghetto.

Rule two and four go hand in hand. You need to be on time for a job if you want to keep it, and you cannot miss work for every little thing. Take some pride in the job you do, and make sure it is done to the best of your ability. I have seen this type of behavior; being late all the time for no reason. You cannot get ahead in a job if you cant get there on time.

One of the other points that caught my eye is about teachers meeting with parents to keep in touch so they know what is going on with their child. Also, not to be so quick to say that your child has not done

something when the teacher brings it to your attention. I know my sister is a school bus driver for Dayton Public Schools, so she deals with children all day long. She told me that if she informs a parent of their child doing something, they automatically say that she is lying. Parents have to realize that their children are not perfect and will make mistakes. They have to work together with teachers and other school officials in order to keep children on the right path.

I know today that there are, no doubt, still differences and divisions within the black community. I know for myself, I do not associate with certain relatives because our mentalities are so very different when it comes to life choices and demeanor. I dont consider myself better than they, but rather more goal-oriented. I know how to act in public, and I am not loud and obnoxious in which they are. My goals are to be better educated, theirs is are to have more babies. I believe there are still divisions in the community because some want better and others dont. They want to continue down the path of drugs in order to make money quick, or robbing instead of working to get what you want. They want to slum instead of getting a job. The black community will never be able to come together until there is a common goal and everyone is on the same page when it comes to how to act, and how to pursue education.

I think if Walker were to live in this era and compare it to his era, he would definitely say that some things have changed, but unfortunately most have not.

Emergence See - Daniel Beaty @ the Apollo

I loved this poem by Daniel Beaty. He started off with the words, I was born in the ghetto, and ended with, but I know that change is going to come. In this poem, Daniel reflected on the black children living in the ghetto, dodging bullets in their classrooms. In this poem David reflected on the kids he had in his own classroom. He focused on the superstars and their bling bling and how they are disconnected from the kids in the black community. He went on to talk about how students dont see their past as being brilliant. He talked about children being in despair, but they will watch BET and buy superstars CDs before they will even think of picking up a book and reading it. What responsibility do those superstars have? Do they reflect back at those young people who are buying those CDs? Do they feel they need to give back to those kids living in these type of ghetto conditions? Do they have a responsibility when it comes to the lyrics? Are they showing a respectful attitude for women or ourselves, or is it more about name calling, shaking your rear, or making money? Should it not be educational? Black superstars have such a powerful role and impact on the black community, especially the young men and women. He continued by stating they he would like to sell the bling bling of the superstars, take their big houses and fancy cars, and put that money back into the system and education of the ghetto children. He would make the children the primary focus in obtaining their education. Are the superstars really reflecting on these types of issues, or are they just sitting back enjoying the fruits of their labor? I dont think there is anything wrong with enjoying the money you have made, however, are they using their moral compass to guide them in putting back into the education of our youth? Can they help them to appreciate that there is more to life than just music? That there needs to be substance in their life and to get to where they want to go, it is not totally about hustling, but about being smart, educated. I look at these superstars myself and wonder if they are reflecting or if they are disconnected.

He continued with the thought as to whether we could consider ourselves successful, if we are leaving ones behind, if we are not uplifting our community and helping them succeed. Where can our future lead, if our young cannot read or write, can we be successful? One of the quotes I love best is this one: Instead of popping fingers, shaking butts, can we teach Mac Daddy trigonometry, can we teach Bebe and Shenane to be attorneys, and can we teach hoochie French? Can we teach our young people to be educated? We need to help them appreciate they can be more than what they think they can be and more than what others expect them to be. I look around in the Black community and am saddened by what I see. These kids can rap the lyrics and dance to the music, yet they cannot read. What a sad state of affairs our community is in. Those who dont think they can become more than their parents were, those who stuck having baby after baby, because they have been taught nothing more, those who cant read or write, because education is not a priority. The black community needs to wake up, come together and teach our children. It does not matter if they can rap a lyric or shake their behinds, because if you dont have a mind or the smarts you can still end up with nothing. I see the mental attitude or slave mentality. If we focus on education and become reconnected to one another, then we can accomplish the change that David focused on in his poem.

Jon Hubbard, Arkansas Legislator, Says Slavery May Have Been A Blessing In New Book
I started off looking at the title of the article and thought, this has to be a joke. Who in their right mind would think that slavery was a blessing? This is supposedly an educated man who is actually representing the people of Arkansas, some of whom I am sure are Black. I am, to say the least, disgusted by his words; he has offended me as an American who happens to black. This statement takes me back to the words of Abraham Lincoln. He did not condone slavery, but felt that if one race was superior to another, then it would be the white race. The article further discusses his thoughts about education, which makes me outraged. He states that integration of schools is hurting white students. He is basically saying that schools once again need to be segregated. Why? Blacks have earned the right to be in this country and to be educated just as white students learn. How can we possibly come together as a nation, if we cannot come together in education? There are very highly educated Blacks in our society, just like there are Whites who are highly educated. He is making it seem that blacks are bringing whites down, when it does not matter your skin color as to whether you are disruptive, it has to do with your upbringing. Just like not every Black student wants to learn, neither does every White student. I am highly offended at the insinuation he is making. It definitely reminds me of Walkers education about Blacks. Maybe this Arkansas representative would like us to be taught by the less educated Whites, so that we can still feel inferior and just be laborers instead of intelligent creatures. He continues on with the statement that African slaves had better lives under slavery than in Africa. This reminds me of the David Walker article with its opening words: We (coloured people) and our children are brutes! and of course are, and ought to be slaves to the American people and their children forever!! to dig their mines and work their farms; and thus go on enriching them, from one

generation to another with our blood and tears!!! Of course, he was using sarcasm or being cynical in his words. This statement was written in the 19th century, it seems the attitude of some have remained from the century. However, sad these words may be, it seems that it still holds true for some people. Having racist attitudes is why the country is still divided and there is still hatred in the world. People still have this superiority complex, and feel that others of another race our beneath them. This is just not so. I am infuriated at this Representative, and hope that he never has to come face to face with someone he may actually need to save his life, a Black person. It really angers me to hear these types of words in the day and age. I would like to think that people are more enlightened today than they were hundreds of years ago. I would like to think that people are not racist, but rather misguided. However, the next words out of this Representatives mouth are disturbing; the fact that blacks dont contribute to society and that what is developing in the United States is similar to that of Nazi Germany. Blacks contribute to the society as much as anyone else. I think that people like to blame everything on the black race when something goes wrong. There is always something in the news about blacks committing crimes or being in jail that is the primary focus. However, when we do something that contributes to the society, it gets pushed to the background. I think the news media does contribute to this stereo typing. In reflecting on what I have learned in class thus far and comparing it to this article, it seems that some have still not come far in their thinking and actually agree with those Southerners who had slaves and felt it was ok because it was a win-win situation. They got their fields cultivated and could rise to the top, while the slaves were being taken care of by their master. We have come a long way, but it is clear we still have far to go.

Tim Wise: Imagine if the Tea Party was Black

I read this article and reflected on the words that Tim Wise wrote in this article. I had to sit back and ponder the words and try to get them to register in my mind, especially considering the fact that I have a very heavy dislike for Rush Limbaugh when it comes to his views. He is a very narrow-minded individual, whom I think of as a racist and a person who has no boundaries and who spews a lot of hatred. I imagined, as stated in the article if there were black protesters that were to go to the White House with guns and tried to get their point across in regards to the second amendment, how that would go over. It would not. They would not see these individuals as trying to get justice or trying to fight for their rights, people would just see a gang of black people gathered, and automatically assume that trouble will break out. The comment about the radio host who would suggest that the only way to get promoted in a White administration was to hate black people, is absurd. The article continues to state that the only reason that a prominent white person had only endorsed a white candidate was to have racial bonding. These among other things have come out of the mouth of Rush Limbaugh. I find what he says offensive, but people today do believe these words. They believe that Blacks only voted for President Obama because he is black. Do they really think that we as a whole black community lack common sense? I am not going to say that some people did not vote for him for that reason alone, but the majority of blacks voted because they wanted change and thought he was the best person for the job. Not only did blacks think that, but whites as well. As I black person, I am infuriated by his comments because they are bogus. It takes me back to reading in Walkers articles that back in slavery times, we were not able to read or write because people wanted us to be an illiterate people and to always feel inferior. Looking at these types of comments, makes it seem that we are still an illiterate people, not from the standpoint of reading or writing, but that we cannot think for

ourselves. We have to have a Master to tell us what to think, how to think, and to treat us lower than the animals. I have seen a few presidencies through my time, and never remember the Republican Party being as disrespectful to the Presidency as they have with this one. They have tried to block everything that he has wanted to do for people of all races and colors, and I believe it is because of race. Some of them may have legitimate concerns, but when someone can stand in the middle of the Presidents speech and call him a liar, I think they have a grave lack of respect for the man, and yes, because of his race. Everyone has a place in this world, and to have to tear down one race or another to make you feel superior, there has to be something going on with you as an individual. If the world continues that way, we will never have a united country or people. I look at the last words of Tim Wises article where he says it clearly for me: many whites vision of their races superiority is severely threatened. I think this is true. The more educated Blacks become, the more Whites have to worry if somehow Blacks will become superior to them, become better them. No longer uneducated or illiterate, but finding their place in America.