Surprised there wasn't a thread on this already but on the 50th Anniversary of the "I have a dream" speech where do you think we are at in regards to race relations and and economic justice since then? I'm not going to make a poll since I don't think this can be boiled down to simple answers.
We have 40+ black congressmen, which is right about the same percentage as blacks as a whole in the US. We have a half white/half black president. We've had 2 black secretaries of state (Powell and Rice). So there's been tremendous success. What's holding blacks back today is their destructive culture. MLK would be ashamed by the saggy pants/rap/single parent/lack of focus on education trend that he would see today.
Coasting on fumes and raising the dead on behalf of a particular political ideology and a economical and geographical subset of an entire race. But it's a critical moment in both racial equality and non-violent social protesting nonetheless.
Cool pice on NPR about MLK and how instrumental the Unions were in helping civil rights and Martin Luther King. http://ktep.org/post/march-washington-had-lasting-impact-3-detroiters
I can't agree with this. Just because he didn't represent what was stereotypically African American then or now doesn't mean he can not be te role model. We all have our heros and they are typically in a better situation than the average of the group he or she represents. MLK was the most influential person of any race in the past century IMO. This being said I agree with texxx that the culture of AAs now a days is not good or even close to what he would imagine. "Raising the dead" is fine by me because it properly directs the attention to a great person and takes it away from current idiot role models like kanye or p diddy.
Funny people never want to have an honest dialogue about race in this country, but can talk about what's wrong with black folks all day.
No, he'd really be ashamed that people like you still exist. You are the consummate race baiter. It's disgusting.
I didn't bait anybody. Do you think blacks' culture is productive to their success? How about a focus on education for starters? and to the people who say "oh people love to tear down black people" - well are you happy with where they stand in America today vs. other groups?
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Employment participation rates of black men from from 1960 to today has gone down and incarceration rates have gone up. They may enjoy more freedoms today, but more of them are in jail so they don't get to enjoy those freedoms. Also due to the high incarceration rates many AA end without father figure. Also their labor participation rates are down so even if they are free they are shackled by the economic realities and having no father figures. Furthermore they are more likely to be unemployed now, but given that we have high unemployment lets ignore that number. You could make an argument that in certain ways AA men are worse off now than they were 50 years ago.
MLK would be ashamed of all the stereotypes that a certain part of the population tries to stick black people with. That was a pretty big part of his message... "Judge a man by the content of his character not by the color of his skin."
Do you even know what black culture is? You keep talking about it as if you know so I'd like to hear your take on what black culture actually is and what it actually consists of.
That is a good question. I doubt King would approve of Gangsta Rap, but then again he probably wouldn't approve of Miley Cyrus, Charlie Sheen and a lot of things in our culture now. At the same time the black experience isn't all about rap stars considering there is a black president, not to mention Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Oprah Winfrey.
Working-class blacks are worse off as educational requirements for professional or skilled work have risen and our high school graduation is still relatively low, although partly probably due to the insane amount of low-wage service job opportunities in larger cities. But middle and upper-middle class blacks are far better off than 50 years ago, just because entire regions and sectors of the economy or org chart aren't completely shut out to them. Also, and this is probably why desegregation was feasible in the first place; economic and professional opportunities have opened up for everyone in the last half century: to the point that discriminating against blacks, women or immigrants wholesale was negatively impacting white managers' professional head count and productivity.
