Authors often utilize a call to action in their texts in order to motivate a community to work for change. Communities are called together for a common good, and through their differences, they attempt to reach their goal of improving whatever situation they are opposing. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes a call to action meant not only for the white ministers he addresses in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” but also to those of us living in the present world. This call does not exclude anyone due to race or religion, but rather encompasses all people and encourages all to join in the struggle against racism. Many will say that the united States does not have a race problem, but while young African Americans still grow up in fear of whose who claim to care for or protect them, there is still a race problem. While the glass ceiling still exists and people are forced into certain neighborhoods due to racial, social and economic standing, there is still a race problem. This problem will exist until we reach equality for everyone. This equality guarantees that everyone is created equal, that everyone will have the same opportunities to realize their dreams.
The current race problem may not include Jim Crow laws or segregated schools, but rather it includes a fear that has sprouted in African Americans because of something they cannot change—their heritage. As of late, the political movement of “Black Lives Matter” has sought to bring light to the ongoing race problem that we are facing daily. This political movement has fuelded a distrust of police officers where the idea of trust is fundamental. Without the bonds of trust in a community, the police officer cannot fully and safely complete his job. The safety that springs from trust in a community benefits not only the officer, but also the member of the community. When the officer knows the community he is in and has established trust within that community, he may feel like a peacemaker rather than a warrior during situation of unrest. With this feeling, the officer may be more at peace in serving in his community and therefore complete his job in a way that benefits not himself or his division, but the community as a whole. Due to the media surrounding recent racially charged events, unless we act together, neighborhoods will not be able to experience the community resulting from trust.
Growing up in a primarily white are and school district, I have not seen many racial interactions, but as I walk our college campus, I see much more diversity. This lack of diversity I had previously seen may have been due to growing up in an older community that has traditionally consisted of older, white, upper-middle class residents. At the college level, however, I am seeing more diversity in campus make-up, but when I see groups of friends walk by, they include members of primarily the same race. There appears to be many more same race interactions and friendships than interracial ones. The different friend groups are not necessarily against one another, but also do not associate with one another on a regular basis. This lack of interracial interaction is a part of the race problem we see. If we are to answer Dr. King’s call, we must integrate with one another willingly in our daily lives. This answer needs to come from not just one side, but both sides, oppressor and oppressed.
Young African Americans should not fear the schools they go to nor the peers in those schools. With the race problem that the U.S.A. is facing, the ever-present cloud of negativity follows students around schools as they sit in class, eat their lunches, and walk through the halls. This negativity may be both internal and external in manifestation. Internally, some students may sense themselves inferior or superior to their peers depending on their race. Language has always held power, enabling the powerful to explain and encourage their ideas. This power has been held almost exclusively by white men; however, in Dr. King’s letter, he takes and uses the power of language to call his fellow clergymen to fight against the racism that surrounds them. The language he used is still our battle call in our war on racism today. We need to speak out against the power of oppression.
Wage differences and job opportunity differences are often pointed to regarding America’s race problem. While working the same job, African Americans are often offered less, paid less, and promoted less. African American men have less of a wage gap between them and a white man at the same job than an African American woman and white man. The lack of promotion, when speaking about women, is often called a glass ceiling; however, this term well applies to the lack of promotion that both African American men and women face. The jobs that are offered to people often depends on higher education and also on personal relations with a company. These factors are often dependent on one’s family history, economic background, and social standing, all of which in turn depend on how others think of a person and their family.
If we are to combat the race problem that the United States is facing, we must first admit that there is one. There is no way to fight a problem unless it is directly addressed. Looking around our country, it is hard to deny that there is a problem of inequality. Equality is not present in the hearts of many people. It is in many areas, in the traditions of older generations, in the minds of aspiring generations, and in the public world. When equality is a truth rather than an ideal, we will no longer have a race problem. Equality is not only physical but also mental. Equality does not exist where a group of people still in some way feels oppressed. We have to answer daily Dr. King’s call to fight for the oppressed, as this battle will not end until we achieve equality for all, by all. We must shout from the rooftops what we refuse to stand with racism. We need to fill the streets with our songs of equality and justice. Equality cannot come from one person; as a group of people, as a nation, we need to agree upon an equal playing ground for everyone, an equal opportunity for everyone to reach their dreams.