Twelfth Grade Second Place Essay
MERCEDES ABERNATHY
Harrisburg High School

The Perfect Nation

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to help make the world a better place, not just for blacks but for all living human beings showed greatly though his actions and his speeches. Dr. King spoke with great admiration and pride for the black community, and I believe he thought long and hard about what America ought to be. In his last speech, he spoke about the community, as a whole, reaching out to help those who needed to be helped. I believe Dr. King thought we shouldn’t always think about ourselves but of others first. He addressed the people in a positive way letting them know that it wouldn’t be easy to make our nation a peaceful place and it would take some time, but it should happen. He told them that us working together would make this nation a happy place with less hate, war, and division between races. I believe he thought our men, women, and children should be driven to do a lot more for our nation’s people so that everyone would have a fair chance at life. He believed that our men and women no matter what race, should be able to sit, eat, and drink wherever they please without being harassed or taunted. I think Dr. King wanted us to reach down inside of us and look deep down for the good. Dr. King wanted us to keep moving forward and proceed with what has already been accomplished to achieve great success for our nation. Dr. King thought this nation ought to be one where everyone walked around with freedom and pride. He thought we all should help one another in accomplishing this goal. I think he believed no one should be higher than another because of the color of their skin. He believed we should help a man or woman without thinking about the consequences of their actions as long as their actions were positive. Dr. King envisioned a lot for this nation and for the black community, and he wanted to see it through. Even though he was unable to see some of his movements through he left us with these powerful words for all to think about and to cherish. I believe a lot of Dr. King’s dreams came true, but if we take his words to heart there is so much more we can accomplish to make the nation that he envisioned.