Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta Georgia
From Martin Luther King, Jr., “The American Dream,” Sermon Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, July 4, 1965
“This morning I would like to use as a subject from which to preach: “The American Dream.”
“It wouldn’t take us long to discover the substance of that dream. It is found in those majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, words lifted to cosmic proportions: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This is a dream. It’s a great dream.
“The first saying we notice in this dream is an amazing universalism. It doesn’t say “some men,” it says “all men.” It doesn’t say “all white men,” it says “all men,” which includes black men. It does not say “all Gentiles,” it says “all men,” which includes Jews. It doesn’t say “all Protestants,” it says “all men,” which includes Catholics. (Yes, sir) It doesn’t even say “all theists and believers,” it says “all men,” which includes humanists and agnostics…
“Now ever since the founding fathers of our nation dreamed this dream in all of its magnificence—to use a big word that the psychiatrists use—America has been something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against herself. On the one hand we have proudly professed the great principles of democracy, but on the other hand we have sadly practiced the very opposite of those principles….
“But now more than ever before, America is challenged to realize its dream, for the shape of the world today does not permit our nation the luxury of an anemic democracy. And the price that America must pay for the continued oppression of the Negro and other minority groups is the price of its own destruction. (Yes it is) For the hour is late. And the clock of destiny is ticking out. We must act now before it is too late…
“About two years ago now, I stood with many of you who stood there in person and all of you who were there in spirit before the Lincoln Monument in Washington. (Yes) As I came to the end of my speech there, I tried to tell the nation about a dream I had. I must confess to you this morning that since that sweltering August afternoon in 1963, my dream has often turned into a nightmare; (Lord) I’ve seen it shattered.
“I saw it shattered one night on Highway 80 in Alabama when Mrs. Viola Liuzzo was shot down. (Lord, Lord) I had a nightmare and saw my dream shattered one night in Marion, Alabama, when Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot down. (Lord). I saw my dream shattered one night in Selma when Reverend Reeb was clubbed to the ground by a vicious racist and later died. And oh, I continue to see it shattered as I walk through the Harlems of our nation (Yes) and see sometimes ten and fifteen Negroes trying to live in one or two rooms. (Yes)
“I’ve been down to the Delta of Mississippi since then, and I’ve seen my dream shattered as I met hundreds of people who didn’t earn more than six or seven hundred dollars a week. I’ve seen my dream shattered as I’ve walked the streets of Chicago (Make it plain) and seen Negroes, young men and women, with a sense of utter hopelessness because they can’t find any jobs. And they see life as a long and desolate corridor with no exit signs.
“And not only Negroes at this point. I’ve seen my dream shattered because I’ve been through Appalachia, and I’ve seen my white brothers along with Negroes living in poverty. (Yeah) And I’m concerned about white poverty as much as I’m concerned about Negro poverty. (Make it plain)
“So yes, the dream has been shattered, (Amen) and I have had my nightmarish experiences, but I tell you this morning once more that I haven’t lost the faith. (No, sir)
“I still have a dream (A dream, Yes, sir) that one day all of God’s children will have food and clothing and material well-being for their bodies, culture and education for their minds, and freedom for their spirits. (Yes)”
From Erica L. Green, “The administration ordered federal diversity efforts to shut down by Wednesday night,” New York Times, January 22, 2025:
The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered that officials overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across federal agencies be placed on leave and to take steps to close their offices by Wednesday evening…
The memo also directed agencies to take down any language or advertisements about their D.E.I. initiatives and to withdraw any pending documents or directives that would undermine the new orders. It also ordered agency heads to inform D.E.I. officials that their offices would be closed and that employees would be questioned about whether there were any remaining efforts that remained “in disguise” by using coded or imprecise language.
While the federal government has no purview over many private-sector practices, it does have discretion to enforce its rules on heavily relied-upon private contractors and subcontractors who would be subject to the new rules. In anticipation of Mr. Trump’s taking office, several companies, like Meta and McDonald’s, have rolled back their D.E.I. initiatives.
“The order on Tuesday said that D.E.I. policies “undermine our national unity, as they deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”
Within hours of his swearing in, Mr. Trump rescinded several executive orders signed by his predecessor, Joseph R. Biden Jr. The first was one that Mr. Biden had signed on his first day in office instructing federal agencies to infuse equity into virtually all policymaking during his tenure.
Mr. Biden prided himself on putting racial equity at the center of his policymaking, in areas including the environment, infrastructure, the economy and health care.
Mr. Trump’s orders reverse Mr. Biden’s position that a government committed to reversing decades of discrimination and neglect in underserved communities is a course correction for the nation rather than a threat to its future.
The executive actions instead are attempts to fulfill Mr. Trump’s promise to eradicate “radical” policy and “wasteful” spending on initiatives aimed at combating systemic inequities, which have drawn the ire of conservatives who say diversity initiatives have amounted to reverse discrimination and racial “preferences.” Mr. Trump’s order on Tuesday required the elimination of programs with goals of “diversity,” “equity” and “equitable decision-making,” among other terms.
Mr. Trump amplified these calls during his inaugural address to the nation upon taking office, vowing to stop efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”
“We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based,” Mr. Trump declared during the address.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement that the new directives should “come as no surprise.” “President Trump campaigned on ending the scourge of D.E.I. from our federal government and returning America to a merit based society where people are hired based on their skills, not for the color of their skin,” the statement read. “This is another win for Americans of all races, religions, and creeds. Promises made, promises kept.”
