MLK Time Article

The writer feels that they owe King the greatest debt because they were freed from almost 200 years of being called hypocrites from the rest of the world, because they claim to be a free nation, but in fact they are not. America had Jim Crow laws, discrimination, segregation, and an all-around hate towards African Americans. Since Martin Luther came along, and helped integrate America, the burden is lifted off of the white population.

King was definently the right man at the right time. If you look at all of the other prominent black activists throughout U.S. history- Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, WEB Du Bois- they all made a difference in the fight for civil rights, but none of them got enough national attention to make a big enough change on the national level. You could almost compare to MLK's rise in popularity to the rise of dictators in Europe. The nation was scared because of the Cold War, angry at the government because of Vietnam, and sad because of JKF's assassination. Because all of these events were going on, the nation needed someting to look foward to, like a new hope. They used King as a distraction, and when the nation actually sat down and listened to what he had to say, they realized that he had a great cause and that they too should do something to change equality in America. So, Martin Luther King was definently the right man at the right time.

I think he would have been disturbed to hear the current use of his most quoted line: "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". If this quote was still used today just because it is a great quote, he would have been happy. But the fact is that this quote is still being used today to fight a battle againt affirmative action. I think he would be dissapointed by the use of this quote today because of the fact that it is necessary after all these years of fighting, and gaining civil rights.