Payton Whiteman

English 1201
January 21, 2015
Let Freedom Ring Remarks by President Obama
President Obamas remarks at the Let Freedom Ring Ceremony highlighted the
triumphs that have been made because of Dr Martin Luther Kings speech, but even more so by
those who marched and continue to march. This ceremony was help to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the March on Washington and Kings I Have a Dream speech.
The President made points of inspiration citing the struggles people took in order to get to
Washington. The march was a civil protest in order to bring attention to the fact that our nation
was ignoring what our founding fathers wanted for our country as Lincoln put it, the right to
have Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
There were also whites who participated in the march. They could no longer stay silent at
the discrimination.
President Obama gave a tremendous credit to the great, wise, voice of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. But his speech was more in tribute to the actual people who participated in the march.
They scraped money for bus tickets, walked far corners of the nation, shared scarce meals and
slept on whatever floors they could find. These people made the difference, using the powerful
words from King as their inspiration and focus.
Because of King and of those who marched, America began to change. The Civil Right
Law was passed, a Voting Rights Law was signed, educational opportunities opened so that

blacks could get better jobs and work not for whites, but along side or higher. Obama even sited
the White House changed, meaning he, himself, becoming the first black President- because they
marched.
The President also pointed out that justice was not the only goal. They were also seeking
better jobs. To be properly educated so that equal employment, with equal wages could be
earned. By getting fair wages and working conditions, African Americans could acquire livable
housing, old age security, health, and welfare measures, conditions in which families could grow,
have education for their children, and respect in the community. The African Americans only
wanted what attracted all immigrants to our country- The American Dream.
The president recognized some of the accomplishments that have come about since the
march, but was quick to point out there are still a long way to go. He stressed that the gap in
wealth between the races has not gone down, but instead has went up. And black unemployment
is twice as high as white unemployment.
He then stated that it wouldnt be an easy task fixing the economy and giving more
individuals jobs. It would be a long and struggling battle that some day they hope to fix. He
stated that there are a lot of political issues that not everyone in the government can agree on so
until then the stocks, minimum wage, taxes, labor laws, funds for schools and many more will
still be a struggling battle. But one day and one day hopefully soon everyones luck in the world
will change and minimum wage will rise, gas prices will go down, taxes will go down, and
schools will get more funds to help students learn more in depth. Obama then said it is the
governments fault that all of these problems are happening.

Citizens have sometimes try to put matters in their own hands by trying to end what they
think is the problem and sometimes that meant ending a life. Presidents have been assonated by
civilians because they felt like the president was the reason for the taxes being so high and that
they were being treated unfair. Those people also had the wrong mentality and lost his life
without dying. Those men were sentenced to life because they thought they were doing well for
people when in the long run they were causing problems. People also used riots to demonstrate
the way they felt in a dangerous and criminal behavior. A riot is mostly created just so you can
tell someone that you arent giving up on something that you believe in but sometimes they end
up badly and people are ever badly hurt or even killed by others actions.
Obama then said that the strongest way to get through the economic crisis is to have
courage and to believe some day that America will have a much stronger economy.
Then he went to say that MLK and the march showed America that change can happen
and that we wont always be in these messy situations. We must be willing to work together as a
team to make tomorrow a better day. The future is always brighter if you stay positive.
The first step of America being a stronger country is to have everyone living here be a
whole. No discrimination, prejudice, or wrongful doing to others because you think they simply
dont fit in. He said one day he hopes that a black kid can see himself being with a white family
or vice versa and not feel like the polka dots on a Dalmatian, very noticed. Everyone in the world
deserves to be free and happy no matter what color their skin is, no matter what gender they are,
or who they choose to be with. A heterosexual male should be able to be friends with a
homosexual man without feeling a sense of awkwardness. One day he hopes that will happen.

Courage is the main key to this. Having courage and strength will give you more hope and will
to do so.
He knows it will be a long and painful ride but one day America will be a better place to
live. He said that someday your taxes will be lower that will allow you to buy more for your
family. The gas prices will be lower which will take a lot of stress away from most citizens here
in America. Your children will be able to get a good education and hopefully be the first person
in the family to get a college education and diploma. If you have hope and courage you can get
anything done if you try and work hard at it.
With that being said Martin Luther Kings March and I Have a Dream speech has still
made it possible for people to have courage and to believe that there is still a positive in every
situation even if its very hard and painful. No matter how bad things get, things will get better
with time.

Works Cited
Obama Barack. Remarks by the President at the Let Freedom Ring Ceremony
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington Lincoln Memorial. 2014