"Martin Luther King Said..." Published Writing Response #3

Martin Luther King once said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” In other words, one who carelessly sits in the background and expresses only silence will not receive freedom in his or her life. This freedom can either be given or taken from by a powerful government or authoritative figure, or even from oneself by lacking the freedom of self-love and expression. A sense and retrieval of mental and physical freedom can only come from one’s inner desire and motivation to truly be free. Through this statement and many others, Martin Luther King made it clear that change and action was the only way to achieve freedom for his race. Instead of sitting back and accepting racism and abuse, he decided to take action and be the voice for all of his people in the fight for equality.

 

In the short story, “A White Woman of Color”, Julia Alvarez expresses the difficulties she faced as a “white Dominican” transitioning into her new life in New York. Once somewhat settled in to the diverse American culture, Alvarez feels that she is almost trapped in American ways and has lost a sense of freedom in expressing her Latino background. For example, she states, “My values, the loss of my Catholic faith, my lifestyle, my wardrobe, my hippy ways, and my feminist ideas separated me from my native culture” (Alvarez 188).  However, instead of just accepting her newly Americanized life, Alvarez decided something needed to be done in order to regain her Latino heritage. Through the time she spent reading, writing, and teaching, Alvarez began to rediscover the rich culture she left behind. Motivated by her writing, Alvarez states, “I am choosing to hold on to my ethnicity and native language even if I can “pass.” I am choosing to color my Americanness with my Dominicanness even if it came in a light shade of skin color” (Alvarez 189). Through this statement, Alvarez is expressing her realization that it is easy and very common for one’s native culture to drift away. However, by writing and teaching, Alvarez has “chosen” to keep her Latino heritage at the forefront of her life and personality. Without this personal decision and action Alvarez may have been completely Americanized for the rest of her life much like Martin Luther King in terms of his fight against segregation and racism.

 

Freedom in modern day American society overall is an inevitable aspect of every citizens life. However, oppression is unfortunately still a very present issue within our society, especially in terms of discrimination. For example, the Boy Scouts of America organization has maintained a strict ban on homosexual scouts for the past 103 years of its existence. “It was not until January 1, 2014 that the organization lifted the ban on homosexual scouts but decided to still maintain this ban on homosexual adult scout leaders” (James). In other words, all boys below the age of 18 are allowed to join the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexuality. However, once a homosexual Boy Scout reaches 18 years old, he is no longer permitted in the organization. He must give up all that he has earned and accept the fact that he can never achieve any higher up leadership positions within the Boy Scouts solely because of his sexuality. Upon realizing the realities of the changes the Boy Scouts Organization has made, one can conclude that they did not create a more equal and tolerant environment but instead created one that is still discriminatory but now on a more specific and direct level. Much like Martin Luther King and Julia Alvarez, a former Eagle Scout named James Dale was one of the few to stand up for himself and his fellow scouts who are homosexual. “Dale raised a law suit against the Boy Scouts that made it to the Supreme Court in 2000. However, Dale lost by one vote” (James). Following this loss, Dale who is now 42 years old continues to speak and fight against the homosexual leadership ban within the Boy Scouts. Dale’s actions represent that leadership does not mean following the popular opinion, and change is not the result of accepting corruption. Instead, sometimes some of the least powerful people have the most powerful voices.

 

Alvarez, Julia. “A White Woman of Color” Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural. Ed. Claudine Chiawei O’Hearn. Pantheon books, 1988. Print.

 

James, Susan D. "Boy Scouts Vote to End Ban on Gay Scouts; Gay Adults Still Barred." ABC News. Good Morning America, 23 May 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.