This segment of her speech sheds light on how cruel the Jim Crow south truly was. It was certainly a merciless time and how easily we forgot where we came from. We left Britain for a new world. We helped win a war against a regime that acted very much as we acted during this time. How did they not see that they were committing a similar crime that Germany imposed on their own "inferior" race? It is amazing to me that we could've allowed African Americans to serve in wars and yet still saw them as second class.

What a powerful ending to Ms Hamer's speech. She was brighter than many white Americans and had more drive and courage to seek change than anyone I can think of. To have died so young is a shame, I wonder what more she could have accomplished had her health been restored?

The biography of Fannie Lou Hamer along with her speech - this excerpt in particular - is shocking on so many levels. The way men could get away with beating a woman just because of the color of her skin is appalling. What even more shocking is the courage this woman had to continue on after a forced hysterectomy (where were the laws against this) and beatings both verbally and physically.

It bewilders me that even after the Civil War that African-Americans were still subject to white authority and such oppression that they would lose their job like this.

When America declared freedom from Britain it had a choice given every man, woman and child the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. How is a person who is starving happy? How is someone who cant afford a decent home or clothes really "living?" In a nation that is run by a small percentage of men carrying the wealth, it is difficult to see how anyone else can really have liberty or pursue anything when all they can think about is how to keep their family alive.

This is a startling statistic, however I believe it with the era Long lived in. I feel we still struggle with this today -- a balance of wealth and power. Having worked across the street from Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville I think of all the names that are familiar to me that have been around for ages. I remember reading Carnegie's biography and loving it. Heinz ketchup is in my refrigerator as I type. The wealth continues to trickle through generations as does poverty and starvation,

This reminds me of the Darwin theory where the rich celebrated where they felt it was a survival of the fittest that they had what they had. I like Long's proposal for equality and how he ties it back to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in his platform. By this time, America had gone through so much change, with the industrial boom, with new inventions, I admire his heart for wanting to see people being given an equal chance.

I can see why DuBois speaks so strongly against Washington's stance. Washington as DuBois implied is ignoring that black equality and "manly self-respect" is greater than land, houses, etc. While I can see Mr. Washington's point - it seems that he is taking baby steps, maybe even back-tracking a tad, when he aims to focus on working the land and gaining respect in that way.<br> Yes, both sides are valid and important, they differ on priorities of freed black men and who is to say which could have been more effective? In my opinion I think both would have been, but Mr. Washington's could possibly have taken longer to achieve ultimate equality - which we still don't even have today.

This excerpt from Mr. Washington's speech made me curious in some ways. While the general principle of gaining education and due process is great; and working with their hands and "putting brains to it" is more noble than before, why did he (in my opinion) disregard somewhat the search for equality between the two races? I would have to stand on the side of Mr. DuBois' counter argument where DuBois states Washington's stance as overshadowing "the higher aims of life."

I loved how wise this man's words were. His ideas represented a maturity and side of African Americans history that seldom shows. It goes to show how much of this history is written with generally few black voices. His speech also cries for an awareness to African Americans that just because they are free that labor with their hands is certainly not done. Many white men work with their hands and Mr. Washington urges his race to "not allow grievances to overshadow opportunities." So by "casting your bucket where you are," I see him asking for people to put away their differences lest they miss an opportunity for equality.