Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream” is one of the mightiest oratory on civil rights. King addressed thousands of people who gathered to listen to their prodigy and to reveal their position on the matter. Admittedly, the speech, as well as the entire Civil Rights movement, reached certain goals set. For instance, overt segregation ceased to exist. Many claims that there is no discrimination against African Americans. However, society has not turned into a big and happy family where values of brotherhood reign. Therefore, the speech is still relevant even five decades later, as African Americans are still discriminated against, and the discrimination has now extended to affect immigrants and females.
Admittedly, African Americans now enjoy the same rights as White Americans do, but the former is still deprived of certain opportunities and has to face some degree of hostility. Thus, the media tend to create a quite distorted image of the African American who is depicted as a member of a gang or unemployed. There is certain prejudice that these people are undereducated and cannot (or even should not) occupy certain positions in companies. Clearly, there still exist “the quicksands of racial injustice” (King 549). It may be covert, but it still persists, and for many African Americans, it is a hostile world where they are a minority which is sometimes criminalized by the majority. Therefore, people have to turn back to King’s speech very often.
At the same time, this kind of discrimination is also apparent in the attitude towards immigrants who are often criminalized. Admittedly, thousands of immigrants are coming to the United States in search of a better life. They do not have enough money and may need support. Americans fear that these newcomers may take their jobs. Clearly, certain tension and misunderstanding occur based on cultural and linguistic differences. Of course, immigrants and open-minded Americans would agree with MLK that it is necessary “to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children” (King 549). Again, the speech is still relevant as contemporary people can learn a lot from it.
Finally, women are also facing certain kinds of discrimination. The world of business is the most apparent illustration of this process. The so-called ‘glass ceiling’ is one of the manifestations of discrimination. Women are deprived of an opportunity to get posts they want to hold. There is also certain prejudice that women belong to their households and can complete only simple tasks. More so, the media promulgate the image of an attractive woman who is concerned with her good looks only. This image makes males (as well as females) fail to take women seriously. Of course, the words of the Civil Rights fighter can refer to females as they still do not have equal opportunities with males.
In conclusion, it is necessary to note that King’s speech is still relevant as nowadays, African Americans, immigrants, and females do not have opportunities that they would have in the world of justice. People tend to be hostile to others who are somehow different. Even though Martin Luther King promoted ideas of equality and social justice five decades ago, there is still a lot of discrimination and hostility. Admittedly, there is no segregation, and all can enjoy equal rights in a democratic society which is stated in numerous laws. Nonetheless, in the real world, people may still face issues associated with inequity. Therefore, Americans should refer to the speech from time to time as this may help them see that there are wrongs that have to be eliminated from society.