The American Dream is a lifelong aspiration of all Americans that someday we will all rise to the top. Americans, as well as the Government, have failed to face up to what the American dream requires of our society, and yet we possess no other central belief that can save the United States from chaos. Our national distress is the way in which whites and African Americans have come to view their own and each other's opportunities. By examining the hopes and fears of whites, and especially of blacks from various social classes, demonstrates that America's only unifying vision may soon vanish in the face of racial conflict and discontent.
One of the most profound leaders back in the 1960's was Malcolm X. Malcolm X was black militant leader who articulated concepts of race, pride and Black Nationalism in the early 1960s. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. Two years after his father was murdered, Malcolm's mother was placed in a mental institution and Malcolm spent the following years in detention homes. In 1946, while in prison for burglary, he was converted to the Black Muslim faith, (Nation of Islam) which was a group who hated whites. Malcolm X was sent on speaking tours around the country and soon became the most effective speaker and organizer for the Nation of Islam.
Another profound leader back then, was J. William Fulbright. J. William Fulbright was born on April 9, 1905 in Sumner, Missouri. He earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science in 1925 while at Arkansas University. He entered politics in 1942 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He entered Congress in January 1943 and became a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. In 1949 Fulbright became a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and from 1959-1974 he served as chairman. In November 1944, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and served office from 1945 through 1974, becoming one of the most influential and best-known members of the Senate.