Martin Luther King Jr.\'s Iconic Speech I

¶ … Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic speech "I Have a Dream" in relation to some of the reactionary racism fuelled by Barack Obama's ascendancy to the White House. Many people believe that Obama's election to President of the United States was a fulfillment of King's infamous speech and it is not difficult to see that Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union" can easily be compared to King's speech as well. The two have quite a bit in common for important figures from different eras, and one of the things that they have in common is that racism is still alive and well in the United States. While King was faced by rampant public racism of his time, Obama has faced a new kind of racism that King was never subjected to -- Internet racism. In the months leading up to his being elected to President, the amount of threatening remarks on the Internet increased dramatically. This outpouring of hatred is proof that the issue of racism has not been solved in this country. Rather, it is something that pollutes our consciousness through its pervasiveness online. Martin Luther King Jr. says in his "I Have a Dream" speech that though "five score years ago" the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, "the Negro is still not free" (Nobelprize.org 2011). Now, over forty years later, the African-American is still not free, which became apparent with Obama's ascendency to the White House and the racism that polluted the Internet with hatred and intolerance in the days before and after.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) (2008) notes that on traditional white supremacist and neo-Nazi sites, there are quite length discussion threads about what would happen if Obama were to become President of the United States. There were people who believed that Obama's election to President would kick off race wars -- Whites vs. Blacks. Others talk about the possibility of Obama's assassination. However, the SPLC notes that the wording appears cautious as many fear that they are being watched by law enforcement. On one site, JD Underground, one of the many White supremacist sites, a thread is titled "Nigger President" (2008).

King states that he and others with him went to the capital to cash a check and they "refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt" (Nobelprize.org 2011). We can't deny that there has been improvement since King's time -- after all, we do have a Black President of the United States who was voted by the people. Yet, King says: "There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, 'When will you be satisfied?'…We will not be satisfied until 'justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream'" (2011). Indeed, with such words as the following hitting the Web after Obama's election to President, there is no reason to be satisfied. "I'm hoping that someone will do his public duty of putting a bullet through Obama's head," "bringing back lynchings" (2008), "Look out nigger. The Klan is getting bigger, and finally, using the screen name 'amerikkkan' -- "The deep south is making plans" (SPLC 2008).

President Obama has broken down barriers and become the first Black President of the United States, yet he has faced both subtle and crude taunts and innuendos, circulating on the Web, in emails, and in cartoons (Netter 2010). Even the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a friend of Obama, had to apologize for what many people believed to be belittling language while referring to Obama (2010). If our politicians are speaking insensitively, how is the issue of racism ever to be healed in America? While there isn't reason (or poll numbers) to believe that Obama is judged by the color of his skin, it cannot be denied that the color of his skin is something that keeps coming up. He and his wife's image have been altered in a denigrating fashion. One such example is the alteration of Obama's image to look like an African witch doctor and his wife's to look like a gorilla (2010). Netter states: "The idea of having a black family in the White House was initially so sensitive to some that even simple acts like a fist bump or a pat on the behind between husband and wife, were analyzed for possible racial undertones" (2010). While Presidents have long been the butt of jokes -- for example, Bush's unintelligence and Clinton's libido, making fun of Obama's skin color clearly crosses the line (2010).