“Our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”
He describes the U.S. as two Americas: one that lives in poverty and one that lives in prosperity. He describes one side as “overflowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity.” For the other America, he describes it as “a daily ugliness about it that constantly transforms the ebulliency of hope into the fatigue of despair.”
Racism was still alive at this time, despite the act signed years before. Discrimination continued in both the North and South, and every time it seemed like progress was made, the nation would take a step back. One thing about King, no matter how many steps back the world took, he continued to have faith that one day, everyone would unite as one.
