English Essay on Racism in America: Insights from Martin Luther King Jr. and James Baldwin

Running head: ENGLISH ESSAY
ENGLISH ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note:

1ENGLISH ESSAY
The time when the letter was written was that of a deep divide in the social order in
the western world. The “whites” were “superior” and the “blacks” were not a very “civilised
class”, that was the general notion. It was a tough fight for an African origin person to
survive in the Western world. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most prominent faces of
the movement carried out by the African origin community in order to assert their rights in
the society. The state system was also not very favourable to the demand of justice of the
“black”, at one hand the homes of the “blacks” were bombed, they were attacked, physically
harmed, or abused, and when they wanted justice, the police system, used to jail them on the
charges that their protests are illegal and that they are disturbing the orderliness of the
society. Actually often in order to retaliate to the attacks there have been violent attacks from
the side of the “blacks” as well. It was a difficult fight as both the state and the non-state
actors were against the African origin people.
The letter is written by Martin Luther King Jr., who was a pioneering leader in the
internal resistance of the people of African origin against the racial bias in America, and this
was often a cause of non-violent social movements to very violent guerrilla warfare. The
letter is written to the religious leaders who had shown certain discomforts towards the way
the “blacks” had been carrying on their movement. The question that the letter raises is how
far a particular section of the society can remain neutral in the face of continuous prejudice.
Martin Luther King writes “They will be young high school and college students,
young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders courageously and nonviolently sitting
in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience's sake. One day the South will
know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in
reality standing up for the best in the American dream and the most sacred values in our
Judeo-Christian heritage.” (Snow). This was what Martin Luther King replied to the religious

2ENGLISH ESSAY
leaders showing their discontent against the protest of the coloured people. Presently situation
has improved and in religious lines there is lesser racial discrimination than before.
James Arthur Baldwin was an Author, critic, and social reformer based in America.
The various aspects of racial discrimination, class discrimination and other forms of divide
were addressed by him. His father expected him to be a preacher but he ultimately left the
church on the grounds that the ministry had racial over tones. Baldwin is quoted as saying “If
the concept of God has any use, it is to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God can't do
that, it's time we got rid of him." In the letter to his nephew Baldwin states “Now, my dear
namesake, these innocent and well-meaning people, your countrymen, have caused you to be
born under conditions not far removed from those described for us by Charles Dickens in the
London of more than a hundred years ago.” (Baldwin). Therefore it is evident that the
discrimination that was prevalent in the society hundred years before Baldwin still existed at
his time. “I am writing this letter to you to try to tell you something about how to handle
them, for most of them do not yet really know that you exist”. Therefore he states that how
difficult is to “handle” the situation where such discrimination prevails in the society. “You
were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black
and for no other reason. The limits to your ambition were thus expected to be settled... You
were not expected to aspire to excellence. You were expected to make peace with
mediocrity.” The colour of the skin of a person decides what will be the destination of the
person in the United States and their destiny. The “superior” whites will decide the fate of the
“blacks” and thus terms will be dictated.
The New York Times in a published letter titled “Confronting Racism in America”,
quotes actor Sidney Poitier saying that after coming to United states he started facing the
brunt of racism. The present situation of America is not good either. The letters reflected how
racism has been affect6ing the United States years ago. However in the present situation after