Two Americas

Two Americas is a phrase used by Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech "The Other America" to describe the differences in what life is like for Black/African-Americans and Whites due to the lack of equal protection under the law and the racial class system designed to keep people with African and Native ancestry from equality and freedom.

John Edwards later revisited the Two Americas theme frequently in his 2004 run for vice president and his 2008 presidential campaign.

[2] In the speech, he discusses the connections between racism and economic oppression and concludes that a universal basic income is necessary to solve these problems.

This America is the habitat of millions of people who have food and material necessities for their bodies; and culture and education for their minds; and freedom and human dignity for their spirits.

In this America, millions of people experience every day the opportunity of having life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in all of their dimensions.

Senator and former presidential candidate John Edwards used the "Two Americas" concept in a 2004 speech, making it into a catch phrase referring to social stratification.

We see the suffering of families who lived from paycheck to paycheck and who followed the advice of officials and went to shelters at the Civic Center or the Superdome or stayed home to protect their possessions.The following are excerpts from a speech given by Senator John Edwards as Democratic vice presidential nominee to the 2004 Democratic National Convention on 28 July 2004, based on the idea of Two Americas.

We can build one school system that works for all our kids, gives them a chance to do what they're capable of doing... John Kerry and I believe that we shouldn't have two different economies in America: one for people who are set for life, they know their kids and their grand-kids are going to be just fine; and then one for most Americans, people who live paycheck to paycheck...

And we're going to close corporate loopholes... Edwards later revisited the Two Americas theme frequently in his 2008 presidential election campaign.