In his
famous "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin
Luther King is actually a bit
vague as to what
he means when he warns America "will have a rude
awakening" if Americans fail
to see the urgent need for change and return to their
everyday, segregated,
racist affairs because they believe African Americans will back down after
venting a little frustration. He is, however, very clear on what he believes the
"rude
awakening" should not
be.
In a later paragraph, he speaks out against
the
"militancy," or violence being promoted by the Black Power Movement of
the 1950s and
60s. Instead, as a staunch advocate of peaceful
protest, King
supports protests in the forms of boycotts,
demonstrations, sit-ins, and marches. We know the
"rude awakening" lead by
King would continue in these
forms because he
gives his people the following warning:
In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty
of wrongful deeds.
He further warns, "We must
not
allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence." His use
of the phrase
"creative protest" implies that he will continue
to promote peaceful
means of protest, even in the face of
giving the nation a "rude
awakening."
While we are not
told specifically what to expect of such an
awakening, we are
told what triumphs he expects such an awakening
to bring. He expects true equality to be acknowledged, true freedom, true justice,
brotherhood
among whites and blacks, an end to oppression, an end to
discrimination, and an end to
segregation.
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