How Have African Americans achieved recognition? by Darricau

Heroes and Civil Rights activists (role models/ embody the struggle of the black community/ Recognition has been a long process, and many steps were taken to achieve it
This is a picture of an artwork by Mr Brainwash. The American street artist, made famous thanks to the film “Exit through the giftshop”, directed by his fellow artist, the British Banksy, painted this mural in Los Angeles, right next to his studio.

It represents Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr and Barack Obama, portrayed standing next to each other. On the left side of the wall, we can read a text, directly referring to these figures. On another wall next to it, the words “Follow your dreams” are also painted.

The text underlines how related these three characters are. The three of them embody the evolution of Afro-american rights since the 1950s. The repetition shows that history is an endless repetition: th and the choice of the verbs refers to specific actions accomplished by these emblematic figures.

Rosa Parks was the first Afro-american woman to dare and “sit” for her rights and thus, for those of all Afro-american people. Her symbolic and heroic action — to sit in a spot reserved for white people on the bus, her refusal to give up her seat, and the fact that she appealed her sentence —, was a starting point for Martin Luther King Jr’s fight for African-American civil rights. Indeed, the reverend took the first step in his struggle by launching a boycott of the bus company at stake in Rosa Parks’ case. He then pursued to argue for the civil rights, promoting the values of non-violent protests. One of his most memorable deeds is the historic “March on Washington for jobs and freedom”, in 1963. He walked to the Lincoln memorial (also a very strong symbol knowing that Lincoln is the one to have abolished slavery in the States), followed by about 250,000 supporters, and concluded the march with his notorious “I have a dream” speech. Sadly, he was eventually murdered a few years later for his positions.

There is no doubt his battle has played a major role in the evolution of rights and mentality and therefore, made possible for an Afro-American man to run for presidency and win. These remarkable figures have changed the course of history and be considered as heroes.

In a sense, Barack Obama becoming president of the United States in 2008, is the dream come true of Martin Luther King, even though given the current circumstances and events happening in the States lately, one can hardly say that the fight for equality is over, and that prejudices belong to the past. The United States might have elected a black president, nevertheless, minorities, and more particularly black people, still do not share the same priviledges than the white, and are commonly victims of racism.

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