Question

Read the excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. Which statement best explains the meaning of the phrase "one hundred years later" in the excerpt?

a) A century after the speech, the conditions for the Negro population remained unchanged.
b) The speech refers to the improvements made for the Negro population over a century.
c) The speech indicates the progress made for the Negro population after a hundred years.
d) The speech highlights the rapid changes for the Negro population over a hundred years.

Answer 1

Option a is correct option.The phrase "one hundred years later" in King's speech stresses the continued lack of freedom and equality for African Americans a century after the Emancipation Proclamation, highlighting persistent racial discrimination and segregation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phrase "one hundred years later" in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech refers to the century that had passed since the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. King emphasizes the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality for African Americans, highlighting that despite the passage of time, significant racial disparities and injustices persisted.

Option (a), "A century after the speech, the conditions for the Negro population remained unchanged," captures the essence of what King was expressing. However, this option is slightly misleading because it references a century after King's speech, not after the Emancipation Proclamation. Therefore, the most accurate interpretation of King's repeated use of the phrase is to illustrate that a hundred years after the proclamation that was meant to free the slaves, African Americans were still facing severe discrimination and inequality.

This period had been marked by systemic racism manifesting in segregation, discrimination, and a lack of economic opportunities, which sharply contrasted with the freedom promised a century earlier.