20 points~ To what is the speaker most closely referring with the phrase withering injustice in the passage below (paragraph 2)?

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
Answer choices for the above question
A. the experience of enslaved Africans before the Emancipation
Proclamation
B. the weather on the day of the march
C. the cruelty African Americans continue to experience in the present
D. the personalities of the politicians who were in power during the speaker’s time

in other words

to put it differently

for one thing

as an illustration

in this case

for this reason

to put it another way

that is to say

with attention to

by all means

important to realize

another key point

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point often overlooked

to point out

on the positive side

on the negative side

with this in mind

notably

including

like

to be sure

namely

chiefly

truly

indeed

certainly

surely

markedly

such as

especially

explicitly

specifically

expressly

surprisingly

frequently

significantly

particularly

in fact

in general

in particular

in detail

for example

for instance

to demonstrate

to emphasize

to repeat

to clarify

to explain

to enumerate

in our power to make a world happy - to teach mankind the art of being so - to a character hitherto unknown - and to have, as it were, a new creation intrusted to our hands, are honors that command reflection, and can neither be too highly estimated,