Is This the Content of Character Dr. King Spoke of?

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

It was August 28, 1963 and Dr. King was standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after a civil rights march on Washington D.C. SomEdite estimates put the crowd at 300,000 people deep.

Dr. King was not looking for a head start over the white man, nor was he looking to denigrate the whites who had so mistreated African Americans in early America up until the outlawing of segregation. Martin Luther King wanted nothing but the true equality for each and every man. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." In saying this, Dr. King was referring to the Declaration of Independence in which John Hancock scripted the terms for which the colonials felt it necessary to part themselves from the tyrannical fist of Great Britain.

John Hancock wrote:
"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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..."

In context, Hancock's outline of human rights stemmed from John Locke's writings of "Natural Rights." In the 17th century, before America had declared it's independence, Locke argued that "all men were born into a state of nature where he was rational, tolerant, and happy. In this original existence man was entitled to enjoy the rights of life, liberty and property." In adopting Locke's philosophies, Hancock replaced "property" with "the pursuit of happiness," as he, and the founding fathers, believed America to be a place where anyone can do anything. Obviously, some early Americans were hypocritical by reaping the benefits of American freedom but also enslaving other humans, thus denying their rights, but in its perfect form, the American dream was meant for all.

The reason I bring up the issue of equality through the eyes of one of the greatest civil rights leading in American history is because that very idea that Dr. King fought for is under attack. In was a dark time for America when the people lived under segregation laws, yet the natural rights of man prevailed in abolishing such laws. Now, nearly 36 years after Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of equality among all men, President Obama has nominated a racially biased woman to take over the vacant seat of the highest court in all of the land.

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life,"
- Sonia Sotomayor