Civil rights essay essays

Civil rights essay essays Do we make progress by going forward, into a future which is unknown, but open to possibilities' Is this the course of action of a people who want to make progress, and change the details of their life' Or do we make progress by reaching backwards and attaching ourselves to a known, less ambiguous identity' By looking backward, we find that there are fewer variables, and fewer chances for failure, because we know the variables. By looking backward, we find at least on the surface of things a Alice Walker and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. both spoke to the heart of the black American population. They both suggested a course of action which they believed would improve the state of the black American populace, and give them a measure of power and control over their lives, after having little to none of the same since the founding of the nation. However, these two motivators suggested opposite plans in order to achieve the progress. Dr, King wanted to go forward, while Ms. Walker questioned the value of Dr. King looked forward with enthusiasm and clarity. He believed that men could rise above the centuries of abuse, and discrimination and set a new course for a better future. In his "I have a dream" speech, Dr. King summed up his hopes in these famous words. "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 ...