Police Brutality In Martin Luther King's The American Dream

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Born from a Baptist Minister, Martin Luther King Jr. saw the world 's imperfections and craved a change. Following his father 's footsteps, he went to college while being a pastor. As a civil rights activist during the fifties and sixties, he sparked national attention for promoting equal civil rights for African Americans in a peacefully and civil way. In a time period that had so much discrimination he was jailed, beaten, stoned, stabbed and his house in Montgomery bombed he continued to live a peaceful life promoting happiness and freedom. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.The perfect definition of an American Dream in Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have A Dream”, would be a society that does not discriminate against race or sex …show more content…
During the sixties, police brutality was at its peak. “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. 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.” (King 360) Although police brutality is not as popular as it was, it still occurs in the United States. Black men are hit or even killed because officers assume they are being suspicious. We build up this stereotype that all black men commit crimes. “We must not allow out creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of getting physical force with soul force” (King 360).King was trying to explain that, as a response to all the hate and physical abuse, fighting back with more violence is just like fighting fire with fire. To get the message across we must be peaceful and kind to the people who are trying to hurt us. Being the bigger person in this war is the only way we can be …show more content…
highlights on the American Dream consisting of all Americans coming together. “ When we let freedom ring, when we lit 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, Jew and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual,” (King 362). Kings statement is so empowering. Seeing people from all different types of races and religions coming together a whole would be amazing. Respecting others differences and agreeing to disagree is the only way we can work together.“With this faith we will be able to work together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day” (King 362). Knowing one day we can be free from these problems we face and help others facing their problems would be a terrific day. The perfect definition of an American Dream in Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have A Dream”, would be a society that does not discriminate against race or sex and police brutality would be eliminated as well as a community that comes together as a whole to address bigger problems. We all have to come together to solve these problems as a whole. If all races, sexes, and religions came together wouldn 't this world be a better

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