A Letter To A Famous Person - Abraham Lincoln

Nedanstående innehåll är skapat av Mimers Brunns besökare. Kommentera arbete

6 Nov. 2000 Stockholm
Dear Mr Lincoln,

You probably never thought you would become one of the greatest presidents in the history of America. But you are still very much respected and admired in both America as well as in the rest of the world. Today you are mostly associated with the freeing of the slaves. This historical event took place in 1863. However, it would take about one hundred years before black people got the same rights as white people. You were murdered in 1865 and exactly one hundred years later a man named Malcolm Little, better known as Malcolm X, was also murdered. He was a black man who fought for improved life conditions for black people. He, however, is not the most famous black leader; that must be Martin Luther King.

The thought that every man should be free turned out to be difficult to carry into effect. You never saw the consequences of your radical decision. For several decades black people lived in “ghettos” (isolated housing areas) in the poorest parts of the country. Basically, black people had no rights. Even in the twentieth century blacks were treated with disrespect and looked upon as second class citizens. America was a segregated country where white people had their own beaches, toilets and schools. Black people were not even allowed to sit on the same side of the bus (a vehicle for transportation of many people at the same time) as white people. Eventually black people started to protest. They formed civil rights movements, where they worked for against race discrimination.

A prominent leader for the black civil rights movement was Martin Luther King. He was a Baptist priest and he mostly fought against segregation in the southern states. He believed in the principal of non-violence, but he too was murdered. This happened in 1968. The 1960s was a time of social reforms in America. In 1963 the so called “great society” was created and the year after a law against race discrimination was passed. The life conditions for black people were improved after the racial conflicts during the 1960s.

Today, when I can look back at the history, it is rather easy to see the connections between the persons above. You may be very different from Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, but you all faced the same destiny. You were all murdered for the sake of your political opinions. Another similarity between the three of you is that you were all fantastic orators. Your speech known as the “Gettysburg address” is very famous today and so is the speech “I Have A Dream” by Martin Luther King. In that famous speech he expresses his dream that one day segregation and discrimination will finally stop and that they will be “free at last!”. Another famous part of the speech goes; “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brother...