Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have A Dream

The leader whose methods were most effective during the civil rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr. His main goal during the civil rights movement was to have the whites and the blacks all come together to form equality. He fought for this equality through a nonviolent approach, which granted him respect from different races all over the world. Nonviolence also allowed the African Americans to achieve their goal.

In his speech, Dr. king talked about his dream, the dream of Negro: to live equal to the white in America and to see their children treated equally to the white children. In addition to seeing the former slaves ' sons and their owners ' sons sitting down together as brothers, not as slaves and masters. (King, 1968). What stood out for me is that Dr. King repeated “I have a dream.” several times

In Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, “I Have a Dream,” given at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963, he spoke to gain equality for black men, women, and children in the United States of America. It is as if he came to the same realization that his feminist predecessor, Jane Addams, had come to. She had once said, “The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life” (Bellecci, 2004, p. 39). Martin Luther King knew that he had freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, but he was not getting them in the same way that his white countrymen were getting them and he was willing to do whatever he could to be considered a true, equal American citizen. However, unlike the likes of other black revolutionaries of the time, such as Malcolm X, MLK was an advocate of peaceful protests even as the white people broke out with violence towards the African American community with every step they took in the war for equality.

Martin Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream” is vastly recognized as one of the best speeches ever given. His passionate demand for racial justice and an integrated society became popular throughout the Black community. His words proved to give the nation a new vocabulary to express what was happening to them. Martin was famously a pacifist, so in his speech, he advocated peaceful protesting and passively fighting against racial segregation.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.

Reading this letter has made me wonder how an eloquent man such as Martin Luther King be criticized, imprisoned and eventually assassinated. The issues of segregation have been well worn since Martin Luther King 's time, but his words still hold passion and wisdom. His work on these issues was groundbreaking and I doubt our country would be as it is today if Dr. King had never spoken

Sacrifice: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else. America was once a great nation because of the incredible sacrifices that were made. America is, still, a great nation, but is lacking the sacrifices that were made years ago. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, went to jail to gain freedom for his people. His powerful words in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” moved his followers to take charge and earn their freedom.

During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Opening his speech Martin Luther King Jr. sets up his credibility with his use of ethos, referring to the Declaration of Independence saying, “This note was a promise that all men… would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life.”

Civil Rights Compare and Contrast In the early 1960’s Martin Luther King Jr. and George Wallace both gave speeches on civil and equal rights, and segregation issues going on at that time. Martin Luther King Jr wanted segregation to end.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960’s and he’s very deserving of that title as seen in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” letter. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience.

10 Apr. 2017. In this source, Foner discuss the new birth of freedom that the Reconstruction Era granted after the Civil War for freedmen. This source tells of how white Americans taunted their formers slaves with their privileges and whites that former slaves wanted to fully receive. Foner discuss the how African American work to establish things for themselves, like churches and social gatherings. Foner talks about the hostile white Americans showed against African Americans as they begin to work for self improvement.

In the post-Civil War South, the economic situation that followed the emancipation of slaves and therefore the loss of the labor force, forced the South to find a suitable replacement for slavery. This also meant enacting laws designed to keep former slaves tied to the land. The economic system, which replaced slavery, was sharecropping. To keep the former slaves tied to the land, however, laws such as the black codes ensured a steady stream of workers to harvest the crops. Furthermore, vagrancy laws, which were designed to punish vagrants by making them harvest crop for a plantation owner, were passed.

These things were very important to King. King wanted nonviolence when he was trying to change the country. King and his group known as SCLC had a great role in the Civil Rights movement. The things known for the Civil Rights movement was March On Washington, and “I Have A Dream.” These things had a big impact on the world.

Malcolm X really just wanted Black America to become organized and see themselves as a voting block. Malcolm X spoke of nationalism and pride for African Americans. Black America “opening their eyes” was a reality in the 60s as well as a posture for today. African Americans should be deeply involved in the political process, and we must not vote blindly for a political party.

King utilizes in addition to parallelism is his use of metaphors all throughout his speech. King uses metaphor in a way to pose an idea and even an argument against any opposing forces in the crowd. As he begins his speech, King refers to president Abraham Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation. He says, “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” (King).