Dr. King directly addresses several aspects of the American dream in his speech at the March on Washington. He speaks of a dream that will allow African Americans to move beyond the history of enslavement and into a freedom from racial injustice and segregation. His speech directly addresses hopes of a future where his children will be judged on the basis of their character rather than their skin color. This is a privilege that white Americans have experienced since the founding of this country. As it is quoted in his speech, "I have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream." In addition, he also references the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, affirming his belief in American democracy. The civil rights movement described and advocated by Dr. King sought recognition from the U.S. government and access to the economic and cultural status granted to white Americans. The American dream he considered included integration into affordable housing, access to middle class, equality, and desegregation of the education system.
https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
The American Dream is the idea that every American, or anyone who wants to become an American, should have the right to achieve or obtain whatever they aim to (e.g., wealth, professional success, property) by virtue of discipline and hard work.
King's criticism was that the nation had not lived up to the promises of its founding documents and had entitled some to the American Dream, but not others. He wrote that 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation black people were still "badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination." He goes on to write the following:
One hundred years later the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.
To King, this is unconscionable. In a nation with so much plenty, everyone ought to be given an equal chance to succeed and realize their full potential, particularly the sons and daughters of slaves and particularly in a nation that has avowed "the inalienable rights" of all of its citizens.
https://www.archives.gov/files/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
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