A More Perfect Union Speech Analysis

In this day and age, people take their liberties for granted. Things such as owning property, voting, and even having our own basic freedom. We have had these rights for our whole lives, so we don’t really understand how big of a problem it was in the past and present. In the sources, “A More Perfect Union” by Barack Obama, Separate But Not Equal, and Civil Rights Movement, we can understand what black people had to go through and are still struggling with. Discrimination has been an ongoing obstacle that people had fought against and still are fighting against today.
In the first source, “A More Perfect Union” by Barack Obama, Barack explains how racism and discrimination are not just a problem in the past. He talks about the experiences he has had with them throughout his life and the more intense racism that African-American people had to face not too long
ago. The text states, “And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States.” Obama is saying that although our Constitution was put in place in order to prevent discrimination in America, it was not enough. Actions needed to take place in order to reinforce the fact that we are all equal throughout our nation. Even after slavery ended in 1865, African-American people were not given full rights that are a normality in this day in age. Not only were they denied rights after slavery ended, but once they finally earned those rights there were still racist people who discriminated against them because of their race. Obama states, “The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through—a part of our union that we have yet to perfect.” What Obama is saying is that there are still flaws in our country- one being racism. The things people are still saying and doing to discriminate others just because of their race are an ongoing issue in America.
In the second source, I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, viewers can clearly see how much African-Americans craved the rights that white people had and equality for everyone in the nation.
A quote from the short clip of the speech states, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King is stating that he hopes for the future of equality for everyone in the nation and that people are not facing racism simply because of their ethnicity and not their actions and character. Martin Luther King also describes his wish for the day where African-American people and white people are united together in harmony without any judgement. A quote from his speech states, “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” Martin Luther King is expressing his desire for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, for a nation that is united and is
one.
In the third source, “We Shall Overcome” by Lyndon B. Johnson, Johnson talks about how the people of this country do not have specific labels and that we are all equal. A quote from the speech states, “There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.” By this, he means that the problem lies with every citizen of America. He is trying to say that we all need to come together as one in order to truly overcome racism and discrimination. Another quote from his speech states, “The Constitution says that no person shall be kept from voting because of his race or his color. We have all sworn an oath before God to support and to defend that Constitution. We must now act in obedience to that oath.” Not only does Johnson talk about the problem we must overcome as a whole, but also the Constitution itself. He wanted Americans all across the nation to understand that it is against the Constitution to keep African-Americans from voting just because of their race.
Although it is necessary for all Americans to fight against discrimination and racism, it is not as easy as it sounds. Every citizen of the United States must realize that we are stronger and better off if we all accept each other for who we are and not what race we are. This is definitely a challenge for our nation because of our different opinions, but I believe if we unite in harmony that we will be stronger and will achieve more. Not only does racism plague America, but also the judgment of religion, sexuality, and people attacking others for not having the same opinion as them. The speeches, “A More Perfect Union,” “I Have a Dream,” and “We Shall Overcome,” all suggest and show the ways we should overcome racism and come together in order to become a more powerful nation and a brighter future for generations soon to come.