The American dream was more than a speech given to us in Washington, D.C., it was a battle against the actions of injustice. This is a battle that African Americans have been fighting against for over 400 years. Martin Luther King spoke in front of hundreds of thousands of people to give insight on how to stop this battle. Sixty years later, this fight still has not ended. To end it, we must persist through the hardships and challenges in this battle of injustice, standing up against inequality, and treat others with the decency they deserve. 

In Martin Luther King’s speech, he said “We cannot walk alone.” “We cannot turn back.” This means that as we walk, we must walk ahead no matter the difficulties we face trying to get there. Dr. King always encouraged us as people to never give up on this interminable fight against inequality. In his speech, he also claims “I still have a dream.” Meaning, Dr. King never gave up on the dream he had for us no matter how difficult and tiring it got. Martin Luther King showed us that our freedom is valuable and worth fighting for, even if it makes us weak and exhausted. 

We can always honor the dream Dr. King shared with us by using our voice and standing up against injustice. If prejudice continues against a group of people who haven’t done anything wrong, we as people must stand up together and fight against it. Dr. King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This means that if injustice continues to exist and no one stands up against it, it will continue to spread and threaten the justice we currently have. Martin Luther King is one of our prime examples of speaking against injustice, so we must continue to speak against discrimination to keep his dream alive.

One of the most important things Dr. King taught us was to treat others with the dignity they deserve. He once said on the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial, “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” He also said, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Meaning that only love can drive out the injustice in this world. Dr. King wanted us to fight for freedom, but never with hatred or bitterness. Martin Luther King wanted us to fight for our freedom peacefully and with love. In order to honor his dream, we must never use hate to try and fix the ignorance and discriminatory mindsets of those who hate others.

In conclusion, to keep Dr. Kings dream alive we must continue to overcome the difficult hardships while facing injustice, fighting against discrimination of any kind, and treating others with decency. Let’s keep Martin Luther King’s dream alive until we can all say what he said sixty years ago “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”