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Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others (Thrift Edition)This book really makes one understand the horrid feelings still carried by African Americans after Slavery was officially abolished. the speech by Frederick Douglass is spell binding.
Oh, be warned. Of many sagacious passages, here are a few highlights:Fellow citizens, I will not enlarge further on your national inconsistencies. It fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement; the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it; and yet your cling to it as if it were the sheet anchor of all your hopes. And yet, brick by brick, rail by rail, calloused hand by calloused hand, people kept dreaming, and building, and working, and marching, and petitioning their government, until they made America a land where the question of our place in history is not answered for us, but by us.Barack ObamaJune 4, 2005None of this will come easy.
As a peasant in 11th century China, you knew that no matter how hard you worked, the local warlord might take everything you had - and that famine might come knocking on your door any day. Louis, Kalamazoo and Galesburg, to try and build their own American Dream. It saps the foundation of religion; it makes your name a hissing and a by word to a mocking earth. It destroys your moral power abroad; it corrupts your politicians at home. of African Americans.
I'm speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. So, I'm not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver - no, not I. It is the antagonistic force in your government, the only thing that seriously disturbs and endangers your union. Be warned.
I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. More than a book of speeches, this solemn and profound book is a window into the history (or should I say plight). I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.Malcolm XApril 3, 1964What will be [your] place in history.In other eras, across distant lands, this is a question that could be answered with relative ease and certainty. As a servant of Rome, you knew you would spend your life forced to build somebody else's Empire.
As a subject of King George, you knew that your freedom to worship and speak and build your own life would be ultimately limited by the throne.And then America happened.A place where destiny was not a destination, but a journey to be shared and shaped and remade by people who had the gall, the temerity to believe that, against all odds, they could form "a more perfect union" on this new frontier.And as people around the world began to hear the tale of the lowly colonists who overthrew an Empire for the sake of an idea, they came. Across the oceans and the ages, they settled in Boston and Charleston, Chicago and St. Every one of us will have to work more, read more, train more, think more.
The existence of slavery in this country brands your republicanism as a sham, your humanity as a base pretence, and your Christianity as a lie. We will have to slough off bad habits - like driving gas guzzlers that weaken our economy and feed our enemies abroad. A horrible reptile is coiled up in your nation's bosom; the venomous creature is nursing at the tender breast of your youthful republic; for the love of God, tear way, and fling from you the hideous monster, and let the weight of twenty millions crush and destroy it forever.Frederick DouglasJuly 5, 1852No, I'm not an American.
One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. This collective dream moved forward imperfectly - it was scarred by our treatment of native peoples, betrayed by slavery, clouded by the subjugation of women, shaken by war and depression. Our kids will have to turn off the TV sets and put away the video games and start hitting the books.Barack ObamaJune 4, 2005
I am so excited about our new President, Barack Obama. I found this book while just shopping on Amazon.com. Great transaction, great product, great shipping. Thanks.
Book in perfect condition. Arrived on time. No problems at all. Speeches are amazing.
The book was in great condition and sent in a timely manner. My son has enjoyed this book. He is reading this in his spare time while studying for his master degree in religion. We have recommended this book to a lot of his friends and collegues. Thanks Amazon.
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