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Places and forms of power

Race in America

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Summary:

I/ Race in America in the 19th century.. p.3

II/ People are still not equal nowadays p.5

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I have a Dream speechs extract Martin Luther King, Jr.

Delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the
greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand
today, 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 their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years
later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation
and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a
lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One
hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American
society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here
today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the
architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and
the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which
every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black
men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America
has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are
concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the
Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient
funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to

believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of
this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us
upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

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Mississippi burning, directed by Alan Parker in 1988

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Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013)

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Black Lives Matter not Black Friday! Day of action across US over
Laquan McDonald shooting

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Introduction:
The 4th of November 2008, the Americans elect Barack Obama as president, he
is the first black American head of state. This event is a huge progress of the
mentalities in a country where two hundred years ago, four million black
people were enslaved, which represented 15% of the national population. This
is the result of the action of men, such as Martin Luther King, and organisations
who fought against systemic racism and gathered together to defend their
rights. Systemic racism is the fact that the judicial system that condemns are
rooted in assumption of black criminality. However, in some ways blacks of
America are still not equal with the whites nowadays as the protests against
the polices violence translate. The notion of race in America is one again
placed in the centre of debate because many tensions between communities
remain. Nevertheless, it appears that America is a great democracy because it
gives the possibility to its citizen who believe they have been put aside to
demonstrate their discontent publicly. Has Martin Luther Kings dream come to
reality?

I/ Race in America in the 20th century

The population was deeply racist and the rights of the blacks were completely
neglected. The movie Mississippi Burning reflects very well the state of mind in
the country and shows to what extent systematic racism was established in
America. Indeed, after the murder of the three civil rights workers who were
organizing a voter registry for minorities, the film follows the investigation of
the FBI. The two FBI agents are confronted to the local sheriff. The movie
displays in 1964 the violence of some extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan
(which burns the blackss house), the bias of the justice (who judges in an
unfair manner, against the black) and the hostility of the towns residents. The
scene takes place in a state who is meant to be Mississippi, one of the states
which had the largest number of slaves. Slavery had been officially abolished in
1865, however we see that racial segregation was still present during the 20th
century.
Facing all this discriminations, some black leaders decided to fight against the
place of the Afro-Americans in the American society. Among them, the most
famous is Martin Luther King who pronounced his very famous speech I have a
Dream at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. In his speech he calls for the end of
racism in the United States, and called for civic and economic rights. He begins
his speech with a reference to the abolition of slavery but he then adds: But

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one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free. We understand that even if
the blacks are legally totally free, in real life, they are not equal with the whites,
they havent become emancipated from their previous status. Furthermore, he
uses a metaphor to describe the economic situation of the blacks, indeed, he
tells us that they live on a lonely island of poverty in an ocean of vast material
prosperity. It demonstrates that they dont have the same opportunities that
the whites have, the equality of chances is not permitted by the system. He
also claims for the security of justice that is not respected as we can see in the
movie weve just talked about. Finally, he says that the blacks came to cash
this check meaning that the law puts them in the same level than the whites,
but they now want the law to be respected. The power of the Afro-American
population is expressed through the streets and it demonstrates that America
is a great democracy because it allows everybody to value its opinions.

II/ People are still not equal nowadays

We have seen that blacks in America protested against segregation during the
20th century. Nowadays, they have been some great improvements. America
has elected its first black president which translate that this population has
taken more importance. However, blacks are still not equal. One of the best
examples is to look at the polices violence against the blacks. The picture of
black people protesting against the numerous murders (16 in total) proves it.
We can read on the banners no justice, no peace, this translates anger but
also the beginning of a new era of protests. Indeed, Martin Luther King was
also fighting against the system but non-violently, on the contrary, these
demonstrators promise no peace which means the beginning of an uprising.
This can be explained by the fact that the blacks are still isolated, they dont
feel totally American because there is racism in the United States. In her book,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie focuses on this question, the problem of race in
America. According to her, racism is very present, for example many people
wont accept that Barack Obama is black because his mother is white. It shows
that for many people, race is a fundamental point for the appreciation of
someone. In addition, she writes: in America, you dont get to decide what
race you are. It is decided for you, this means the question of race is still
crucial and that therefore, you will be considered differently according to
which race you belong to. The last sentence of the extract is Black man as an
answer to a certain profile. It demonstrates that blacks in America as still
considered as specific category of people, and that they arent well integrated
in the society.

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Conclusion:
Martin Luther Kings dreams was to create a society where blacks would be
equal to whites. Has his dream come to reality? The answer is no, if we look at
the numbers of black prisoners against the number of white prisoners, we note
that 5% of black men are imprisoned whereas it is less than 1% for the white
males. Nevertheless, the election of president Obama implied that there are
some changes, because it would not have been possible fifty years ago. Lastly,
we can be positive for the future because even if the election of Donald Trump
wont make the process of normalization of race speed, we can affirm that all
races will be equal, it just needs some time because a radical change in
mentalities needs a long time to be effective.