KarMel
Scholarship 2008
|
Essay �Martin
Luther King Speech� By Untitle |
Desciption of Submission: �This is a speech I
gave at my schools Martin Luther King assembly. It was a piece I wrote and I
truly feel passionate about it.� - Unknown
|
Hello, my
name is Unknown. I am a senior here at Unknownt and I represent a
variety of In a climate
survey taken at Shorecrest , 86 percent of
Shorecrest Seniors report hearing racial derogatory slurs in these very
sacred halls. 94.4 percent of Shorecrest Seniors report hearing offensive
language about LGBT people at Shorecrest. Demeaning a group of people by word
choice, whether it be racial, or sexual or another
group is never ok. Martin
Luther King once said that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere." We are now here today to praise Martin Luther King, and his
allies, in their activism, but also to look at the path in front of us as
well. The civil rights movement for African Americans found it�s footing in
the 1960�s and the civil rights movement
is continuing today. That�s
right, the civil rights movement has never ended.
Civil rights are rights granted or implied to members in this country. Basic
rights like the right to vote, the right to an education, the right of life,
the right to liberty, and the right to pursue happiness are guaranteed. But
when cultural hatred towards a group becomes fused with country politics
things can become disastrous for the targeted group. The pursuit of happiness
is interpreted not as a basic right everyone has, but only the majority �
with their version being the only one validated. Civil rights then start to
be interpreted and denied to certain groups, women cannot vote, blacks cannot
own property, people with disabilities do not have the right to travel, and
even today gay people cannot donate blood, or see their partner in the
hospital�and the list, of course, goes on. Martin
Luther King�s pursuit of happiness and his obligation to justice were met
with much strife during our fight for civil rights during the 1960�s.
Personal friends of Martin Luther King helped declare that protesting hatred
and bigotry would only be successful if they were to remain, non-violent. When
the water blasted African Americans from the fire hoses the fight continued.
When black people were murdered on the Freedom Rides to test the law the
fight continued. When a judge of the Friends
of Martin Luther King helped continue his leadership. Bayard Rustin was not
only a civil rights leader and one of the organizers of the �I Have A Dream
Speech� but he was also the right hand man to Martin Luther King. Rustin was
also a courageous gay American and he is hero to many members of
interconnecting communities, like myself. He once
said, �When an individual is protesting
society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act
of the protest confers dignity upon him.� He believed that protesting
injustice creates justice in the end. Rustin was a human being, who believed
strongly in non-violent principals and the fight for justice and equality was
worth it in the end. Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Bayard Rustin believed
that the fight for people to be treated as human beings was an internal
calling of social justice and an obligation. The
very fight was to preserve human dignity by the act of protesting for rights.
Activists break the laws for the highest respect for them; they raise
awareness to show what is right and what is unfair - like African Americans
sitting in a segregated restaurant to protest discrimination. Likewise
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people live openly to raise
understanding of their inherent rights as American citizens for their pursuit
of happiness. People with disabilities have also fought discriminatory
practices to be treated equally under the law. The connections of oppression
are quite clear, and the overall goal in the end is not a secret, but a
fundamental right of this country�equality. Personal
sacrifice is something that every activist of change has to deal with. I have
extended myself into unsafe situations and I have personally fought for
justice by standing up for a safe place to go to school, and to live. In turn
I have lost countless friends, coworkers, and recently my family has disowned
me, but I still continue. My conviction to continue is that people have experienced
injustice and discrimination before me, which has made my life potentially
easier, and I understand that in turn I will carry on similar personal
sacrifices. As
students and global citizens I encourage you and others to look not only
vertically but horizontally as well from one form of oppression to another -
from a sock drive for --- �Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." |