POLI-330N
I Have a Dream That Black Lives Will Matter
Chamberlain University
POLI-330N
I Have a Dream That Black Lives Will Matter
“I have a dream” …What comes to mind when one hears that phrase? What comes to
mind is a man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On August 28th, 1963, Dr. King delivered his
famous “I Have a Dream” speech in front of thousands of people. In the first part of his speech,
he discusses the racial discrimination that African Americans go through even after slavery was
abolished. He portrays not an idealized American dream but a picture of a seething American
nightmare of racial injustice (Analysis of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Speech, n.d.). He
then goes on to talk about how he dreams that one day blacks will be able to have the same equal
rights and would be able to sit together in unity with white Americans. The crucial message in
Martin Luther King's speech was that all races should be created equal, and even though it was
not the case at time, he hoped that there would be a change.
When it comes to Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza is the cofounder of the movement. In
her speech “Black Lives Matter”, Garza underlines the prejudices that black minorities go
through every day. In her speech, she names people like Michael Brown and Jordan Davis who
were murdered due to the color of their skin. She also gives different statistics of how black
minorities are treated unfairly. An example being that out 2.9 million people in jail, blacks make
up half the quantity. A main highlight in her speech is about domestic work. Garza discusses
how domestic work is rooted in and shaped by the legacy of slavery (Center for Constitutional
Rights, 2015). In slavery times, black women were forced to take care of families in homes. In
today’s world, most of domestic workers are black women. Most of the time they are taken
I Have a Dream That Black Lives Will Matter
Chamberlain University
POLI-330N
I Have a Dream That Black Lives Will Matter
“I have a dream” …What comes to mind when one hears that phrase? What comes to
mind is a man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On August 28th, 1963, Dr. King delivered his
famous “I Have a Dream” speech in front of thousands of people. In the first part of his speech,
he discusses the racial discrimination that African Americans go through even after slavery was
abolished. He portrays not an idealized American dream but a picture of a seething American
nightmare of racial injustice (Analysis of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Speech, n.d.). He
then goes on to talk about how he dreams that one day blacks will be able to have the same equal
rights and would be able to sit together in unity with white Americans. The crucial message in
Martin Luther King's speech was that all races should be created equal, and even though it was
not the case at time, he hoped that there would be a change.
When it comes to Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza is the cofounder of the movement. In
her speech “Black Lives Matter”, Garza underlines the prejudices that black minorities go
through every day. In her speech, she names people like Michael Brown and Jordan Davis who
were murdered due to the color of their skin. She also gives different statistics of how black
minorities are treated unfairly. An example being that out 2.9 million people in jail, blacks make
up half the quantity. A main highlight in her speech is about domestic work. Garza discusses
how domestic work is rooted in and shaped by the legacy of slavery (Center for Constitutional
Rights, 2015). In slavery times, black women were forced to take care of families in homes. In
today’s world, most of domestic workers are black women. Most of the time they are taken
