Kit "I Have a Dream" Reaction

Although I have read and heard Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech numerous times, this particular time that I read it I was struck by two major elements. First, I was struck by King Jr.’s extensive use of dark and light imagery. Second, I found it surprising that King Jr. eagerly included all Americans, including Whites, into his movement.

Multiple times in the speech, King Jr. uses dark and light imagery to symbolize the struggle that the African-Americans have gone through, and the promise of the future toward which they are working. He calls the Emancipation Proclamation a “beacon light of hope,” coming as a “joyous daybreak to end the long night of [the African-Americans] captivity.” In reference to the struggle they are about to attempt to overcome, King Jr. references the “dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.” Furthermore, he pledges to continue to lead the fight against inequality “until the bright day of justice emerges.” All of these images and metaphors are based on biblical depictions of God and goodness as being “light,” while Satan and evil are almost exclusively portrayed in a dark context. While King Jr. was preaching for civil rights and equality for all Americans, he was a minister by trade, and these biblical allusions are what he (and his audience of comprised mainly of devout Christians) knew best.

“We cannot walk alone.” I believe that this quote, placed in the middle of King Jr.’s speech, embodies his attitude towards other races of Americans in relation to the Civil Rights Movement of the African-Americans. Despite years of oppression from Whites, years full of broken promises and broken dreams, King Jr. urges African-Americans to not “distrust all white people,” because “[the white’s] destiny is tied up with our destiny.” As opposed to later movements such as the Black Panthers and other more aggressive organizations, King Jr., in his typical non-violent style, wants to accept the whites into his movement in order to achieve his cause quicker. This speech was not only intended to further the cause of African-Americans; in a sense, it was directed to all people in order to create true equality throughout American society. I find it amazing that someone who has been so oppressed, beat down, and persecuted could be so willing to work with his opponents. That is true character.