“We stand in life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn”
the threshold of a new dawn
Martin King Luther Junior was conscious of the general state of affairs in the struggle for equality. His symbolic language suggested the degree of every evil that was posed upon the Negroes. The injustices were symbolized by a state of darkness that is a characteristic element at midnight. The black folks were going through the pain of segregation and discrimination, and Luther assumed the prophetic role of foretelling the realization of racial equality. Despite the struggle, he compelled them to soldier on nonviolently as they were on the verge of a new dawn. “A dawn of freedom. A dawn of equal rights. A time when they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (Schumach).
The symbolic darkness at midnight was drawn in many forms. The Negroes would not even share a seat with the whites on the bus. They were to take the rare seats and spare one for a white in case the bus was full. This led to the famous Montgomery boycott that was staged to protest this attitude and discrimination towards the African Americans. Luther was conscious of the hate that he felt should not be contagious to the people of his ethnicity. During his arrest, in this particular symbolic hour of darkness, he urged his followers never to stoop so low that they would hate their white counterparts (Schumach).
The struggle continued. The suffrage was eminent, and it even got darker as Luther was killed. However, the dawn was nigh. This was the threshold of a new dawn. The Negroes were eventually free. They acquired equal rights as whites. They would finally move freely. They would vote with the whites. They would take leadership positions. Also, apparently, an African American is the holder of the highest office in the United States. For sure, the new dawn became evident with the election of President Barrack Obama.
Schumach, Murray. Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of Millions in Nonviolent Drive for Racial Justice. 1968. <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday