Critique Essay

Nigel Grant

Ms. Noone

Freshman Composition

October 14, 2014

Understand and Appreciate the Legacy

Hamden Rice is one of the top writers of a renowned blogging website, the Daily Kos. Recently, he wrote an article titled “Most of You Have No Idea What Martin Luther King Actually Did” that stated his opinion on what Martin Luther King, Jr. did for the African American community.According to the blog, Rice suggested that the younger generation is unaware of the full impact that Martin Luther King, Jr. had on the Civil Rights Movement. Rice’s main point pleads that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s accomplishment should be owned solely by the African-American community, and not the American community as a whole. He says, “His main impact was not to make white people nicer or fairer. That's why some of us who are African Americans get a bit possessive about his legacy. Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, despite what our civil religion tells us, is not color blind.” (Rice, par. 3). Rice is stating that Martin Luther King’s legacy was only for the empowerment of black people but not for overall equality of races. I disagree with Rice’s main point because separating who should be celebrating King’s accolades would contradict all of the standards that Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for. Furthermore, I believe that King’s teachings were, in fact, color blind. However, I do agree with Rice’s point that too many people, mainly from the newer generation, are ignorant to the importance of King’s movement and the sacrifices he endured as a leader. Rice states, “Before I tell you what my father told me, I want to digress. Because at this point in our amnesiac national existence, my question pretty much reflects the national civic religion view of what Dr. King accomplished. He gave this great speech. Or some people say, ‘he marched.’” (Rice. par. 12). Rice generalizes that people only know about Martin Luther King’s famous event: his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Rice believes that Martin Luther King did not care about the equality of all races but instead just for the equality of black Americans, but I beg to differ. Rice believes that “his main impact was his effect on the lives of African Americans, not on Americans in general,” (Rice, par.3). This previous statement that Rice announces is distasteful to the standards that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy is known by. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for the equality all people. He did not want just African-Americans to have equal opportunity as caucasian people; He wanted every American to be able to have equal rights and privileges as everyone else. This way of thinking is completely contradictory to the message that Mr. Rice is trying to convey in his blog.  

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech is possibly his most distinguishing event in his short but meaningful career. This particular speech and other acts of Martin Luther KIng, Jr. helped equality to black people across the United States. Sadly, certain people only know Martin Luther King, Jr. for the famous speech, but fail to remember all the other great triumphs of the African American community. For example, He was arrested five different times for civil disobedience due to his participation in protests for the civil rights movement. “He ended the terror of living as a black person, especially in the south.” (Rice, par. 16-8). I agree with Rice’s comment because people need to understand that equality was not just having the same materials as the white man, but instead living without fear of the white man.

Ultimately, the significance of this article is that people need to attain more knowledge about the whole truth of Martin Luther King, Jr’s legacy. As a nation, African Americans especially must understand the struggles and sacrifices he labored through in order for society to develop into what it is today. This critique of Hamden Rice’s blog is also important because this critique will help him to see another point of view of Martin Luther King’s legacy. Based on his writing, he expressed a sense of tunnel vision in his thought process and felt no need to see solutions through a different light. Readers should use this critique as an eye opener for another way of thinking about the topic of Martin Luther King’s Achievements.

Works Cited

Rice, Hamden. "Most of You Have No Idea What Martin Luther King Actually Did." Daily Kos. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014