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Read the following passage from a famous speech by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963. Which social division is he talking about? What are his aspirations and anxieties? Do you see a relationship between this speech and the incident in Mexico- Olympic mentioned I this chapter?
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring – when we let 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, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics – will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual : Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almightly, we are free at last!’ I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed ; We hold these truths to be self- evident : that all men are created equal."
(i) He is talking about social division based on singular identity, i.e., overlapping social differences.
(ii) He wants a society that practice equality and free of any type of discrimination. He is worrying about identifying people by their skin colour and not judged by the content of their character.
(iii) Yes. His speech reflects the pain of social division based on the colour of skin. This was also reflected and protested by the Black Olympians at the Mexico Olympics.
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