Question

Why does Dr. King say that the Emancipation Proclamation has proven to be futile?

Answer 1

President Abraham Lincoln decreed Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, according to which slaves in all confederate states then at war with the Union "forever free" and made them eligible for paid military service in the Union Army. Almost hundred years later in 1961 and 1962 King made multiple appeals to then-President John F. Kennedy to issue a second Emancipation Proclamation since the first one had proven to be futile. There was little change in the attitude of people and slavery was practiced as it was earlier. He sent a telegram to the President in December 1961 and called for "a second Emancipation Proclamation to free all Negros from second-class citizenship" in line with the 'defense of democratic principles and practices here' in the US. On 28 August 1963, King stood on the steps of Lincon Memorial to deliver his 'I Have A Dream' speech, he noted that the Emancipation Proclamation gave hope to black slaves. The following year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a concrete step towards fulfilling the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation.