Olaudah Equiano Summary

Martin Luther King Jr. told thousands of people about his dream on August 28, 1963. He told them that one day every American citizen will walk hand-in-hand and be treated like one another disregarding gender, race, or religion. Did Martin Luther King feel the need to make this speech because America had lost its vision of the American Dream? For instance, the American Dream has been practiced since Pre-Colonial times; influencing citizens that America can always be improved and made better. The first settlers on the land expected America to be a perfect place to be, giving all people endless opportunities. America is seen as a place of hopefulness and moving forward. The New Land was where people could be distinguished for being who they were,
In support, African Americans wrote that about the tortuous points in America. Olauda Equiano wrote about having “the least glimpse of hope” in his autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gusatavus Vassa the African. Equiano did not see anything good that would come from the Africans voyage to America, so he wrote to emphasize the pain that was felt. Also from The Interesting Narrative, Equiano stresses the depression that he felt in the inhumane conditions on the ship over to America. He repeatedly mentions how much he would rather die than live to see America. For Equiano, death was a relief from being mistreated and abused for his race and religion. In the same way, Mary Prince wrote about her horrible masters and working environment in The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave (Related by Herself). Prince wrote that her masters’ hearts were cold and there was never time for rest, even during the night where it would be proper to sleep. Prince wrote to tell the truth about slavery and the atrocious conditions that she had to go through while working as a young slave. In brief, although Africans were coming to America by force, they would have liked to be presented with the same opportunities everyone else