The Symbols of Equality

The Symbols of Equality


In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most well known civil rights leaders in the history of this country, wrote and delivered the famous speech “I Have a Dream.” In his speech, King expressed his dream of equality for the colored people. Miss Moore, a central character in the short story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, shares King’s dream. The dream of equality gives Martin Luther King Jr. and Bambara’s character, Miss Moore, the passion that sparks the literary works. These two diverse genres demonstrate symbolism to express the unjust inequalities, the segregation and the repression of the Negro population.
Thus, the speech expressing King’s dream begins with the remembrance of Abraham Lincoln and The Emancipation Proclamation. He explicates, “a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed The Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of N...