Understanding the 60s

Running head: UNDERSTANDING THE 60S
UNDERSTANDING THE 60S
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1UNDERSTANDING THE 60S
The 1960s in the post Civil War America was a turbulent time when the civil rights
movement was very much a characteristic feature of the political scenario that prevailed during
that period of time (Kamp, 2009). That period had witnessed the rise of several personalities who
had devoted themselves to the cause of uplifting the marginalized sections of the society. Martin
Luther King is one such personality who had devoted his life to the upliftment of the blacks of
the country and had also been martyred for the reason. In this essay the chosen personality from
the 60s for the purpose of analysis shall be Martin Luther King. His endeavor shall be discussed
to substantiate his contribution to the society. Against the background of the contributions and
ideas espoused by Martin Luther King, the current situation shall be analyzed to show how far
have the situations changed in the present times in the country, and to show whether the roles
have changed or have remained the same.
The mention of Martin Luther King conjures up his famous speech, ‘An
American Dream’ of 28 August 1963 (Kamp, 2009). Any discussion upon the ideal of the
American Dream is incomplete without elaborating upon the ideas provided by three notable
personalities, namely, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Truslow Adams and Martin Luther King in
enriching the concept and expanding its scope. Each of the three personalities had at different
epochs in the American history, infused their visions into the ideal as a response to the needs of
the time. The ideal of the American Dream had first been brought to the forefront of public
discourse by the publication of the novel, The Great Gatsby, in the year 1920 by Fitzgerald. In it
he had associated the vision with prospects of better life for the Americans by acquiring material
requisites of life. Adams’ definition which came about in 1931 on the other hand had emphasized
on enriching the quality of life by making the social conditions conducive to both growth and
development for all sections of the society. Martin Luther King had added the dimension of

2UNDERSTANDING THE 60S
equality amongst the races in 1964, to draw attention towards the grave injustices perpetrated on
the Blacks of the country (Hanson & White, 2011). Thus it becomes clear that the ideal of the
American Dream was not a novel creation of Martin Luther King, rather he had contributed
substantially to the fulfillment of the promise that the idea holds for the people of the country by
enriching the quality of the lives of the people both quantitatively and qualitatively.
The novel contribution of Martin Luther King to the ideal was that he had endeavoured to
float the idea that by excluding a section of the society who are an integral part of the nation,
who pay taxes for the development of the country as much as the others do, a society cannot
progress. The 1960s was the period when the United States of America had witnessed an
eruption of the movements by the blacks to claim the rights that rightfully belonged to them.
Martin Luther King had been one of the champions who had articulated the interests of the
negroes of the nation (Hanson & White, 2011). He had utilized the platform which he had gained
on merit to help out the people belonging to his ethnicity, and the speech of 1963, ‘An American
Dream’ is an indelible testimony of his efforts. Through his speech he had voiced not only of the
oppression faced by the black people of the nation, but had also provided an impression of the
hope of betterment that he cherished in his mind, something which he had dreamt of and that
consisted of America becoming a better place and that it shall be having space for everyone to
live freely with respect and harmony (Kamp, 2009).
Martin Luther King had mentioned of the promise of equality of the citizens of the
nation irrespective of the colour of their skin when freedom was achieved from the yoke of
colonialism. However, that promise was belied as the United States of America had gained
independence in the 18th century and in the 19th century, the nation had to face a civil war over
the preservation of the right to own and keep slaves (Hanson & White, 2011). By slaves, the