The Five Steps of Achieving Racial Equality

Zhang Mingwei

I Also Have a Dream， one of Lin Das bestsellers， in some ways has some coincidence with Martin Luther Kings famous speech——I have a dream. It not only punningly indicates the gist of the book but also expresses Lins good wishes to racial equality.

Looked from the macroscopic angle， this book states the racial problems in America by telling many historical events and presenting Lins points of view. Actually， it epitomizes a process of achieving racial equality throughout the book in which the introspection of humanity， the impetus of social revolution， the foundation of the general public， the amendment and improvement of law and whole social progress are five steps. It is this process that pushes America forward.

First step is the introspection of humanity which is always mentioned in this book. All the thoughts and retrospection originate from The Declaration of Independence in which it says “we hold these truths to be self-evident， that all men are created equal， that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights， that among these are Life， Liberty， and the pursuit of Happiness”. People on the Mayflower reached the land in North America with the pursuit of freedom and equality and then this concept deeply rooted in each Americans mind. Americans know the importance of freedom and equality. Anyone does not have the right to deprive other peoples freedom and equality， even the blacks. Through Lin Das words， it is obvious that America is a strong nation which possesses introspective spirit that really plays an important role in American society. Lin Da acknowledges that “the dominant part of the national spirit has a strong function of auto-criticism and self-correction” （183）. I always believe that only a nation envisages its shortcomings and faults can it gain introspection and make progress. When people were still in the colonial period， they were eager to form their own country to achieve the creed that all men are created equal； when they have established the United States， they opposed slavery； when they have finished the abolishment of slavery， they hoped to eliminate racial discrimination and abrogate racial separation. That is to say， their continuous introspection and the thinking of human nature became the foundation stone of social progress. Lin states that “the ‘majority rule we worship may become tyranny of the majority” （365-366）. He also concludes that “ America is a country with a very short history but possesses the function of introspection. After all， introspection is the premise of progress” （403）. However we can not say that Americans are incessantly holding such introspection in the whole history. They also made many mistakes and detours.

Second step is the impetus of social revolution which can be considered as the preliminary practice of the introspection of humanity. In the book， Lin Da interprets the cause and effect of the famous case——Amistad. Those black people on the Amistad have never imagined that they would be written into the annals of history and they could be returned to their homeland again some day. However， Amistad was destined to be a milestone in the history of America. With no exception， every relevant event will become a blasting fuse. Amistad is an example （Lin 97）. Not only the case itself becomes the impetus of social revolution， but also the social power involved plays an important role. An “Amistad Committee” was established in New York and did a lot of helpful work. Members of the committee put ads in the newspaper to raise money for the blacks on which it said the rights of those blacks to pursue freedom and equality are according to natural law， international law and the call for freedom and humanity. With the help of those anti-slavery activists， the living conditions of those blacks improved a lot （Lin 109-110）. What is more， activists also cared about the blacks mental state and tried their best to communicate with them though there existed an unconquerable barrier between them ——language.

The third step is the foundation of the general public，which is probably the most important one among the five steps. Without it， any reform， movement or campaign could not be smoothly implemented. The Emancipation Proclamation is considered by todays historians more of strategic concern than a moral declaration （Lin 230）. Now that a law has come out， it should gain more support from the masses. Take the controversy between the North and the South as an example， after the Civil War， although national safety and integrity have been maintained and relevant policies and laws have issued， the concept of eliminating racial discrimination has not been accepted among people in some southern states. They refused it from deep inside. After regaining the rights of autonomy， the South used various methods to restrain the rise of the blacks social status as if resisting monsters. It is one of the reasons why several southern states such as Louisiana lag behind. As a consequence， It is no doubt that once the foundation of the masses is established， laws will be easily carried forward.

The fourth step is the amendment and improvement of law. The concept of law runs through the whole book， which reveals judicial fairness and legal supremacy. Amistads judgment is the best argument to explain why the blacks win the lawsuit in the end. When a judge is standing in the front of a threshold of historical progress， he feel confused because the current laws have conflicts and these conflicts may cause different judgment. In this case， his choice should accord with the direction of human progress and historical progress because it is based on the founding principle of natural law and the principle of humanity （147）. Before reading this book， I could not totally understand why such little things like the abolition of slavery got stuck and brought little effect. In fact， such little change in America may cause great waves even disasters. Lin takes it as a “game rule”. To be more exact， everyone involved in a game must obey corresponding rules and any change of the rule should receive the approvals of all members. Compared with China， during the time of the Great Cultural Revolution， we did not obey the “game rule” to a great extent. Democracy and law were trampled thus caused great economic losses. Since the beginning of the reform and opening in 1978， China began to obey the “game rule” so politics have developed a lot and economic have gone back on track. “Game rule” is a universally applicable principle which is very useful in country governance.

The fifth step is whole social progress. In fact， in spite of the introspection of humanity， the impetus of social revolution or the foundation of the general public， the ultimate goal is to promote social progress institutionally and inwardly. What has really changed is peoples mind. After the Civil War， the blacks power accumulated and they became maturer inconspicuously. The sign of their maturity was that they were gradually aware of using the weapon of the law to pursue their attainable rights. Their rights are also a part of the countrys dream （Lin 276）. Then， Martin Luther King Jr. ， the famous black American civil rights leader was born in such circumstance. He organized 55，000 blacks to start a world-famous campaign —— Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasted 383 days and marked the beginning of the civil rights movement in the United States. It was a really magnificent feat for the blacks because it mostly attributed to the majority of the blacks rather than on Martin Luther King himself. Actually， Martin Luther Kings non-violent movement was a rational reflection and a performance of social progress. In that period， there were a lot of ambiguous anti-racists like Skeet devoted themselves in eliminating racial discrimination. Some of them even lost their lives. On June 21， 1964， two white undergraduates and a black undergraduate arrived at a small town in Mississippi to disseminate non-violent spirit. Several days later， they disappeared and were finally found died. Here， Lin supposes that the three undergraduates are utilized by enthusiastic anti-racists and then become the victims of social progress （Lin 350）. He adds that he always suspects that some leaders of non-violent movement have known that this plan may bring a big impact and even danger. However， they insist on doing this out of the concern about political effect. Their goal is to appeal to equality and humanity but they fail to care about those whites volunteers in the process（Lin 349）. Reviewing the whole event， the death of three undergraduates is really a tragedy Nevertheless， the progress of the history is based on tears of blood and a heavy price. But for these dedications， racial discrimination would not make a strong reaction among the people in the southern religion.

In the final chapter， Lin Da dreams about a harmonious world in which the whites and the blacks have a genuine coexistence without a little bit discrimination， abuse and separation. We can not ignore that the 21th century has witnessed national conflict， regional segregation and cultural antagonism. How to deal with the conflicts between person and person， district and district， nation and nation， different culture and custom may become the biggest problem in front of all human beings and no one can avoid （Lin 428）. It is not only my dream but also everyones dream and we are eager to see it come true one day.

References：

[1]林达.我也有一个梦想：近距离看美国之三[M].北京：生活·读书·新知三联书店，2013.

[2]The Declaration of Independence，1776.