Dr.
Martin Luther King’s memorable speech “I
have a Dream” was delivered in August 28, 1963 before a large population in
front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The purpose of King’s speech was to stop racial
segregation and to fight for the freedom of African Americans. According to Stephen Lawson, racial
segregation was a system practiced by white Americans to keep African Americans
in subordinate status, denying them equal access to public facilities, and
ensuring that blacks lived apart from whites. This shows that racial
segregation in the nation contributed to King’s activist movement in order to
stop the oppression of blacks. However, the remix of King’s has been produced by
Michael Fujimoto, a black American musician who holds the same dreams like King
for the freedom of African Americans. In his remix song “I have a Dream,” Fujimoto hopes that someday through the united
action of blacks their dream will be fulfilled. King’s speech and Fujimoto’s
remix reveal problems of racial segregation and oppressions of blacks by whites,
which can be perceive through discriminations on civil rights, skin color, and
the sufferings of blacks.
One
of the common issues between king’s speech and Fujimoto’s remix is the absence
of civil rights for African Americans. Thus, the main theme in both texts is
the hope for freedom in blacks and whites society. For example, Fujimoto said
in his song, “I fight the same fight that made Martin Luther the King,” which is
the fight for freedom. This proves that he is continuing struggle for black’s
freedom that King initiated when he was alive. . Based Fujimoto words in his lyrics, “Born on
the blacklist; told I'm a little average; a life with no cabbage; that’s no
money if you're from where I'm from,” it can be inferred that blacks are still considered
poor and inferior in the society. Similarly, in King’s speech, he said, “Someday
the nation of America will rise up and live out the meaning of its creed; the
truth to be self-evident that men are created equal.” This shows that there is
no equality between blacks and whites and blacks are considered inferior in
society by whites. According to Cynthia McKinney, millions of backs who lived
and worked in America’s segregated society, suffered terror and lynching for
many years at the hands of Ku Klux Klan. This shows that blacks rights to life are not
only deprived by whites, but other deadly cults are also against their
existence in the society.
Moreover,
skin color is one of the causes of racial segregation and oppression of blacks
in society as portrayed in the speech and the remix. Based on the remix, it can
be inferred that the social interaction of blacks in society is risky for their
lives. For example, Fujimoto said in his song, “Struggle is my address; where
pain and crack lives; Gun shorts coming from the sound of blacks.” This shows
that blacks cannot interact freely in the society without encountering violent conflicts
that result to the death of some of their friends. Similarly, this explains why
King said in his speech, “Someday my four little children will not be judge by their
skin color but by the content of their character.” This shows that the decimation
against blacks in society is very intense, and King hopes that it does not happen
to his four children. According to Lawson, Northern whites excluded blacks from
public transportations, hotels, and restaurants; Black also attended segregated
schools and churches. This shows that whites dislike the black skin, and they
do not like their color to be associated with the black color. However, Fujimoto
diverts his view about the racial problems of African Americans by adding the Jewish
race and other Africans in his video. For example, he said in his lyrics, “My
story is like yours; you got to be bold; trying to make it from a gangster role
to a Godlier role; and Jewish people in cold caves; hate has no color or age.” This
shows that Fujimoto is aware of the fact the black Americans are not the only
ones encountering racism, but some people in other foreign countries suffer from
the same fate.
The
sufferings of blacks are also apparent in both texts. For example, Fujimoto
presents in his video the physical appearance of blacks suffering from poverty
and starvation. He also describes the
physical appearance of starving blacks in his song when he said, “I walk with a
boulder on my shoulder; it’s a cold war; I’m a colder shoulder.” The words “boulder
on my shoulder” describes the large bones around black’s necks because of
extreme starvation. This shows that some blacks experience extreme poverty
because they cannot afford food for their families. On the other hand, King
also portrayed in his speech the oppressions of blacks in society when he said’
“ I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state
sweltering with the heat and injustice of oppression, will be transformed into
an oasis of freedom and justice.” This shows that blacks were badly oppressed
by whites, and the State of Mississippi is one of the States where black people
experienced extreme discrimination. According to William Pickens, the State of Mississippi
had segregated schools, and white administrators in schools discriminated in the
distribution of funds (2). This shows that blacks had no freedom in Mississippi
and their children were deprived of educational rights.
Moreover,
it can be inferred in the remix that blacks are often prisoners. For example, Fujimoto
said, “I believe in blessings and not jail; in the ghetto let love prevail.” Similarly, in King’s speech, he said, “We will
work together, pray together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom,
knowing that we will be free one day.” This shows that blacks who involved
themselves in the struggle for freedom end up in jails. According to McKinney,
the justice department admits that blacks are more likely than whites to be imprisoned
and some of them are put to death.” This shows most imprisoners are blacks,
while white criminals are released from their crimes.
The
remix by Fujimoto is a good representation of King’s speech because the decimation
against blacks based on civil rights, skin color, and the oppression of blacks
are portrayed in the video. However, the remix is slightly different from the original
speech based on the fact that it does not focus only on black Americans, but pictures
of oppressed people in different countries are also included in the video. For
example, pictures of some Jewish people and other Africans in different countries
are shown in the video. Therefore, Fujimoto wants to show the society that the
hope for freedom is not only among blacks in America, but people in different
countries are also hoping for help and freedom.
Lawson F. Stephen. “ Segregation.”National Archives Center. Web. June 21, 2012.
I enjoyed reading your comparative analysis. Not only do you discuss Martin Luther King's speech and analyze, you show details that supports your answer. The remix was also great to watch. African Americans still today, have problems dealing with racist issues. Great topic to talk on.
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