Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech about the existence of "two Americas" - a white America portrayed as a paradise of equal opportunity, and a black America described as a dystopia of horror and racism. King pointed out the persistence of racism in both the North and South, giving the example of segregation laws that denied black Americans their basic rights. He asserted that racism is evil because it ultimately leads to genocide, as demonstrated by Hitler's actions against Jews. King's goal was to advance the united vision of one America with equality and justice for all.
2. Two Americas Dr King clearly stated in his speech that two Americas exist, one where all is well and another that sounds like hell. What could these two Americas be you ask? Well they could be many Americas and their opposites but he is specifically talking about Black and White America.
3. You see White America is made out to be a paradise and a Utopia where everyone is treated fairly, given the same equal opportunities and expected to go far in life. Upon knowing this initial bit of information one would be content existing in such a society and interacting with the people in it.
4. On the other hand Black America as it is portrayed to be is a dystopia full of horror and negative energy. Such a place is deemed inhumane by many whites folks but Dr. King’s purpose was to show that this was in fact not true and that the nation should be one equal nation in which everyone gets along with each other.
5. Dr. King also pointed out that there was a vast amount of racism in the United States and that its effects on people were dire. My interpretation of his words would be racism is a belief of people being separated into different factions because of race and it is something that any and all societies should eschew, or avoid. The fact that White Americans do not want anything to do with African-Americans is quite obvious except not every white American is like that.
6. Some examples of racism that Dr. King Pointed out would be Segregation. Segregation began after Reconstruction in the South which occurred after the Civil War. It started as Jim Crow Laws which were created to stop African-Americans in the south from exercising a basic right which would be the right to vote. In the Supreme Court case Plessy V. Ferguson (1896) Segregation was legalized therefore making it easier for racist White America to evince, or demonstrate clearly
7. just exactly what their plan are for any African-Americans that get in their way. Boycotts and sit-ins were ways that African Americans attempted to fight back. These were not exactly the most legitimate ways of showing that they didn’t approve of what the white people were doing. Nonetheless they were 2 of the ways African-Americans felt comfortable revolting against Segregation. Dr. King was very persistent about fighting back in peaceful ways such as these.
8. Dr. King points out that racism is still deeply rooted in the north and in the south. What he means by this is that, despite the fact that there are laws to make it appear as though everything is well in some parts of America, in all parts of America, racism strongly exists as a mental form. Dr. King’s thoughts are that Some Whites are still thinking that no African-American should even be alive. These are the exacts type of thoughts he would like to wipe out and replace with positive ones.
9. In his speech, Dr. King talks about Hitler and basically says that racism has a much greater form that what it currently is and that Hitler was the one to further expand upon it. Dr. King asserts that racism is evil because its ultimate logic is genocide. He says that Hitler was a sick a sick and tragic man who carried racism to its logical conclusion. In doing so, he managed to have the death of about 6 Million Jews on his hands. A feeling that no one who is sane would enjoy to have.
10. In summary, Dr. King talks about how there are two Americas. One, which is White America, that is the best America in most people eyes and the horrible Black America. Dr. King talks about how racism still exists in the USA. A fine example to prove this would be Segregation, which no longer exists but was major when Dr. King was alive. Dr. King also talks about how Hitler was a negative person that brought racism to its fullest extent. I personally think that Dr. King died for an excellent cause and I only wish he could have been alive to see what he helped cause to happen. An African-American President.
