Martin Luther King: 50 Years into the Dream

In the half-century since Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which constituted a defining moment in the struggle of black Americans for freedom from segregation and racial discrimination, many things have changed for the better for the African-American community in our neighboring country. The laws and regulations that openly segregated [the population] are a thing of the past (although the Supreme Court left the door open for these laws to return to certain states with a tradition of racism) and there has been extensive work done to promote, through various programs, the social development of the black minority.

But in the economy, society and justice system, structural discrimination against African-Americans persists as shown by the disparity in unemployment rates, among other things, which affect Anglo-Saxons much less, and the disproportionate presence of blacks among inmates sentenced to jail time. President Barack Obama, the first African-American to occupy the White House, recognized this in his commemorative speech, pointing out that on the dimension of economic opportunity, the objectives from 50 years ago have not been reached.

For the other demographic groups that inhabit the superpower, discrimination, racism, phobia and prejudice continue to inspire disgraceful laws, regulations and social attitudes, as well. Latin-Americans that live in the United States (Mexicans, primarily) and Americans of Latin origins, toward whom the authorities and Anglo-Saxon sectors of society maintain attitudes of disenfranchisement, segregation, suspicion, persecution and even lynching, know this well.

Any American who practices Islam, comes from a predominantly Muslim country or who, without meeting any of those conditions, looks like a Muslim in the eyes of the most ignorant and paranoid, also faces a prevalent attitude of social and political racism. This occurs with the Sikhs, of Indian origin, who many Americans tend to confuse for followers of Muhammad for the simple fact that the men wear beards and turbans and the women often cover their heads with a headscarf. To security authorities and many citizens, Muslims are automatically terrorism suspects.

Perhaps the most offensive of the various racist and discriminatory attitudes are those which persist against the original inhabitants of the actual territory of the United States, survivors of one of the most atrocious genocides perpetrated in recent centuries and who were reduced to territorial reserves once they were stripped of their vast territories.

As one can see, in short, Martin Luther King’s dream is far from becoming reality, and at 50 years since that memorable speech, racism and discrimination painfully continue in 21st century America.