“The Other America,” Martin Luther King Jr.
Racism in the United States is a controversial issue that sparks debate across all ages and generations. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the pioneers and leaders of the Civil Rights movement. They died championing the rights of African Americans and other racial minorities in the United States. According to King, three evils have affected the progress and stability of the United States. These evils are war, poverty, and racism. The United States is a leading democracy, and many nations worldwide depend on its decisions since they play an integral part in shaping the nation’s state. King believed that America had not attained social justice and racial equality; hence, everyone should educate themselves about the impacts of racism. In his definition, King regards racism as “nymph of an inferior people”(pg. 3).
According to King, racism is not a generalization of an ethnic group but the simple profiling and feeling of inferiority against other races. In the speech, “The Other America,” King argues, “that there must be a recognition on the part of everybody in this nation that America is still a racist country” (pg. 3). Although King gave this speech to his supporters half a century ago, it is still very much relevant and needed today.
According to King, America has two sides, one where people live the American dream of honey of equality and milk of prosperity and then another one where these dreams are faced by daily ugliness. He states
“One America is beautiful for a situation. In this America, millions of people have the milk of prosperity and the honey of equality flowing before them. This America is the habitat of millions of people who have food and material necessities for their bodies, culture, and education for their minds, freedom, and human dignity for their spirits. In this America, children grow up in the sunlight of opportunity” (pg. 1).
The other America is the result of racism, which creates a heavier burden of poverty among Americans of color. For instance, after World War II, new governmental policies allowed only European Americans to get new government-backed mortgages to buy homes. The United States took good care of its European immigrants, who left poverty in their own country, while racial inequalities were expanding with other minorities. White immigrants had public investments for building the suburbs in America, federally supported loans, FHA loans. But these opportunities only became available and accessible to people who were moving to the suburbs—European Americans families. For many years, up until the 60s, these loans were available on a racially restricted basis. Yet, African Americans and other people of color didn’t have access to them until 1962.
The effects of racism, as King argued, are reflected by the underdevelopment of Black neighborhoods and unequal resource allocation in institutions associated with the minorities. In history, African Americans were left behind in increasingly neglected neighborhoods. King argued that “All too often when there is mass unemployment in the black community, it’s referred to as a social problem and when there is mass unemployment in the white community, it’s referred to as a depression” (pg. 2). These actions have led to the growth of unemployment and poverty rates amongst the Black community since most of them are and underserved and underprivileged.
However, defining the United States as racist does not preclude it from having positive qualities. Because of racism in our country, we are learning how to fight inequalities. America is racist, and Americans continuously learn and fight to teach and eliminate racism in the country. This gives the country additional positive qualities of what it takes to be an American and why people would want to be part of this revolution that put an end to the hatred and racism that has existed in the country. Systematic racism within the United States may have deluded the positive environment that the country is recognized for worldwide. But America is still the most democratic nation globally, with a leading economy that provides and defends many other states globally.
Therefore, its position as a superpower remains and cannot be eluded by racism’s mere ideologies. These are ideologies that we used a long time ago during slavery, but no one should forget that American was made through the sweat of slaves and struggles. Regardless, a lot has progressed, and the United States Constitution is one of the best laws supporting and enhancing human rights. The presence of racial injustices has not eliminated the country’s positive aspects. The Amendments, as stipulated by the constitution, supports human rights and freedoms of the media, which has strengthened the space for political and economic freedoms. Also, the United States economy is much better than other countries, increasing its GDP by reducing the poverty line. However, the poverty index is still high amongst African Americans, despite its strides in empowering the black community. The African American is unable to take care of their needs, yet they are living in a rich country which can establish equality and quality of life, but this is only a privilege to the whites.
The United States is known to be the land of opportunities or immigrants’ land due to the American Dream and related ideologies. The “American Dream” implies that individuals can attain success within the American society regardless of their origin, birthplace, or color through upward mobility. The dream has provided a national ethos that supports freedom and involves opportunities, prosperity, success, and social mobility. Therefore, according to King, racism cannot deter the other people in “Other America” from achieving their dreams. All that society needs is to take the success factors, including risk-taking, hard work, and sacrifice.
Martin Luther King, Jr. stood against the perceptions that African Americans should wait for their time or depend on legislation to improve their lives. He urged African Americans to stand up for their rights and fight vehemently, without violence, to achieve their inalienable rights and freedoms. King claimed: “I think there is a great deal that the black people of this country must do for themselves and that nobody else can do for them” (pg. 8). Today, the American government has enacted legislation that provides social equality and justice to ethnic minorities through actions that are not enough to end racial injustice.
According to King, there was the need to help those who were enslaved in getting them started with life to reduce the inequality gap that was already existing. King stated that
“To have freed the negro from slavery without doing anything to get him started in life on a sound economic footing, it was almost like freeing a man who had been in prison many years, and you had discovered that he was unjustly convicted of, that he was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted and you go up to him and say now you’re free, but you don’t give him any bus fare to get to town, or you don’t give him any money to buy some clothes to put on his back or to get started in life again”(pg. 5).
King urged others that freedom does not come to the victimized hands but is sought and fought for using appropriate systems.
I believe that the United States is still a land of opportunity despite continuous acts of racism. King urged the nation that it is time for the country’s leadership to set national priorities and solve the underlying problem of systematic racism. He asserted, “One, I want to say that if we’re to move ahead and solve this problem, we must reorder our national priorities” (pg. 5). America is a country built by immigrants; hence racism should have no place.
Work Cited
King, Jr, Rev. Martin Luther. “The Other America” Grosse Pointe Historical Society, Grosse Pointe High School, 14 March 1968, www.gphistorical.org. Accessed 6 March 2021.
Unnatural causes series. San Francisco, California, USA: Kanopy Streaming, 2014. Film. https://umbrella.lib.umb.edu/permalink/01MA_UMB/1a3vcr/alma9915209453503746