Gabriella Visaggio Professor Anello Speech Evaluation Writing Assignment 11/20/14 The Most Memorable Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of many memorable and powerful words. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia and died on April 4, 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American pastor and the leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. is known to be the man who gave the greatest speech of all time, “I have a Dream” speech. This speech was given on August 28, 1963 after Martin Luther King Jr. led “The March on Washington”.
He ensured that the African American community had an equal opportunity in society as the other races in America. Martin Luther King dedicated his time to organizing campaigns, boycotts, and marches to bring awareness to the racism problem in America. I can agree that Dr. Martin Luther King struggle was an advocacy due to the obstacles that he faced during the time of the Civil Rights movement as well as the continuous racism of modern day society. Dr. Martin Luther King was successful in many ways with his advocacy to a good society, but as the years went by there were also flaws. I say that he was successful because he was able to get changes done in America for African Americans.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent civil rights advocate, delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech during the March on Washington in 1963. In his noteworthy speech, King exposed the American public to the oppression and injustice of racial inequality that African Americans have endured throughout the last century. Dr. King’s urgency for change emphasized the importance of freedom for every man, woman, and child in the country. His life’s dedication was to put an end to racism, segregation, and discrimination on the basis of race. King’s speech called for equal treatment among all Americans, not just African Americans, and underlined the significance of unity as one nation.
Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation” (Nobelprize.org, para. 2). The previously stated article also mentions that Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the civil rights movement. The purpose of this paper is to talk about Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech and how it discusses the racism, diversity, and equality. Racism in Our Society (racism) In the beginning of Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, Dr. King mentions that the Blacks were had finally become free from slavery after the Emancipation Proclamation, but years later they still were not truly free (King, 1963).
This reference in particular evokes the strongest emotional response from black people because many African Americans revered Lincoln for his decision to sign the revolutionary Emancipation Proclamation, and how the document symbolized a free future for slaves--the ancestors of the blacks in the crowd. But the next few lines following this allusion also persuades those ignorant of how little things have changed by highlighting the “manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” that blacks still suffer from despite the hundred year gap. Here, he uses the connotations of “manacles” and “chains” to evoke a negative emotional response from the audience, especially from those unaware of the need to change, causing their opinion to match the speaker’s: against segregation. Additionally, King weaves biblical allusions into his speech to appeal to the Christians within the crowd. He uses the “dark and desolate valley of segregation” to illustrate the injustice African Americans have endured for centuries and juxtapositions it with the “sunlit path of racial justice” to exemplify a future where true freedom exists for
In his first paragraph he addresses a famous civil rights activist by expressing, “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 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.” Although, he does not directly say who this man was, the audience can infer that Dr. King was referring to Abraham Lincoln. Dr. King uses an allusion to explain how Abraham Lincoln created the emancipation proclamation to end slavery and give rights to African Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. then goes on and clarifies
7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston” (“Malcolm X Biography” 1). “An articulate public speaker, a charismatic personality, and an indefatigable organizer, Malcolm X expressed the pent-up anger, frustration, and bitterness of African Americans during the major phase of the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 to 1965” (Mamiya 1). He spread the idea that only a violent revolution would bring change and equality for black Americans. “You don't have a peaceful revolution.
In the United States are often mentioned the two fundamental documents – The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States. Martin Luther King is not an exception in this regard. At the beginning of his speech he reminds the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation of slaves in 1863. Even though it was one hundred years since the Emancipation Proclamation, Blacks are still not fully free. A big role in the “I have a dream” speech plays the main principles of Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
While people chose the way of demonstrations to overcome this corruption, some clergymen representatives published a so called Call for Unity in the newspaper. In this appeal they called the process of defending rights of people unwise and untimely. As a response to this claim, Martin Luther wrote his Letter from Birmingham Jail, reflecting the African American desire to get
God Bless America, 1964 3A. Ringgold (Artist) was an African American influenced Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” and also by the multiple acts of President John F Kennedy and his Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson. This painting was painted one year after M.L.K. gave his speech which in my opinion had a huge impact on Ringgold work. J.F.K.