King's "Dream:" Have the Media Changed It?


I believe that Lyndon Johnson put it best when he said that the civil rights movement was actually "a struggle for human rights". The question is, however, did the African-Americans achieve their goal? Racism is still a word that applies to our country, the dreams in which Martin Luther King stated in his famous "I have a Dream" speech have not all been met. It is true that as a whole the American society has changed significantly in the expression of their feelings toward blacks. There is less segregation, less violence and less stereotyping but discrimination is still occurring.

In the past television along with radio, newspapers, magazines and other forms of media have painted a frightful picture of blacks. It made them look lazy, ignorant, poor and malicious making not only whites but other minorities fear them and view them as unequal from themselves. This is only one out of many of the injustices the blacks have had to overcome. But has it changed? The African-Americans we, the viewers and listeners of the media, see are not the black doctors, social workers, teachers and other blacks who are making a difference in not only their lives but our lives as well but we are seeing the criminals such as the black drug dealers, murderers and thieves who have themselves caused an injustice. Is this fair? Would O. J. Simpson receive the same publicity if he were white? I guess that is something we will never know but it seems to me that the media publicizes the defaults of not only blacks but everyone rather than the accomplishments. However this does not hurt the white population as much as it destroys the blacks. Why? Because we live in a white society where white accomplishments are publicized as much as thier wrongdoings. Where as we barely ever hear of a black person doing something good unless it is extraordinary. For example, I barely ever heard of O. J. before he was accused of murder and now he is a household name. I knew who he was but I couldn't of told you one thing about the things he accomplished. I could, however, tell you everything about this horrible thing he is being accused of.

Everything the black culture has gone through to get equal rights is being hurt by this depiction, and truthfully, it is not fair to them or to the white population. It is this false portrayal that is holding back African-Americans in our society and making it hard for them to receive the opportunities they deserve. America has progressed in its feelings toward their fellow black Americans, and with each generation it seems to be getting better. However their dreams still have not been met fully. They are still discriminated against, and until every man or woman, black or white, is seen as a human being and not as black or white, Martin Luther King's "dreams" will not be fulfilled, and their struggle for human rights will not be over.

Wendie W.


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