Doctor Martin Luther King Case

Before I had the opportunity to read the letter from Doctor Martin Luther King written from the Birmingham jail, I thought I knew and understood him. He was known to me as one of the most important leaders of the African American culture, a man who promoted human rights, especially equal rights for his own race in the United States. Now, I understand what challenges he was facing and what position he held. I look at Doctor King with greater respect and honor than ever before. I was born and raised in a country where slavery had never been practiced. From my history classes I learned about segregation, however, the eye-opener was my actual arrival to the United States. I got an opportunity to approach the African American community and speak face to face about humiliation, racism and segregation, which were the issues from just a generation ago. I would have never imagined how these issues still remain among the population. The actual reading of the letter made me realize that Doctor King made a large sacrifice and an enormous step in pursuit of equal rights. There were two points in the letter which I found interesting and related to my personal experience: the continuing discrimination in the United States and being considered an outsider.

It has been forty-eight years since Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin. However, hate still remains among the population. My home country was segregated for almost forty-four years. No other races could emigrate around the Eastern European block at that time. During my childhood, I grew up in a community whose acceptance towards different races was filled with judgment and resistance. I have always sought diversity. When I arrived I found San Francisco very interesting "melting pot" of races from all around the world, yet even in San Francisco, I personally witnessed several racial offences in different places and situations. My African American partner and I were leaving a restaurant and while an older white lady passed by, she made a comment that Negros are good for serving white people, because he was holding the door for me. There are still black people among us who have no trust in white people what so ever. I personally believe that it is partially a reflection from the past. As Doctor King stated in his letter, some African Americans became extremists based on years of oppression and were drained of their self-respect, which resulted in hatred and distrust of white people, but they adjusted to the segregation. For some this distrust is still deeply buried in their souls and they have no interest in changing it. To sum up, in comparison with the past, today's community is mostly well adjusted and black communities largely live among white people with no difficulties.

Martin Luther King pointed out in his letter that he was considered as an outsider when he came to Birmingham to take action for the civil rights movement. He was not only an outsider because he came to Birmingham from a different state; he was also considered an outsider for the color of his skin. His point is similar to my personal experience, when I was treated as an outsider because I am a foreigner. When I arrived in the United States, I was an au-pair. I was placed with a family in Marin County. This county