A More Perfect Union Speech

In the articles Fear of a black president by Ta- Nehisi Coates was about the critique of president Obama’s leadership on matters of race. The critique was on the Obama remarks on the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, which Obama has said “if I have a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” After Obama spoke those words the author said the case of Trayvon Martin passed out of the national- mourning phases into a racialized political fodder. This article upset me because I think Obama should speak freely about race since many white politicians who are proud racist and for segregated can give their opinion without the media hate, but when Obama, do they call him the anti-Christ, racist terms or there are intensely discordant. I think Obama remark

President Barack Obama did many things to get to the positions he is at now.” Obama himself struggled with his mixed-race identity and sought to figure out how he fit in with the rest of the world”(Source B). He also had many problems growing up and many complications to get through school since he didn’t have much money. But Obama showed great appreciation for the things he had. He went out in his community becoming a great leader. Not only did he go out in his community and be a leader, But he showed great leadership, as a senate and as a president.Barack Obama was more than just an ordinary President, but he showed great leadership, hard work and cared for others than himself.

In Barack Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union,” Obama made an effort to educate the American people on the history and importance of race in America. He explained how our nations founding fathers developed our Constitution based on the idea that all men are created equal, without actually practicing this idea themselves. He used the words of the Constitution to discuss the current racial issues and to state his concern of our imperfect nation. This was all in response to the very controversial remarks Barack Obama’s pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright had previously stated, which created much unease among Americans. Obama felt the need to address our nation about this specific problem, since he identifies as a black man himself, and offer a solution to end this built up anger and discrimination between the American people. In his speech, “A More Perfect Union,” Obama is able to clearly convey the specific racial problem at hand that created the exigency for this speech, as well as effectively share his own personal connection with this issue, in order to help fix our country and work together to find a beneficial solution.

In response to the controversial sermon given by his pastor and the racial remarks that followed him during his 2008 campaign, then Senator Barack Obama, was inherently forced into delivering a speech that would address the comments and prove to the American people that he did in fact shared their “American Dream” and was not an Anti-America charity case. Obama gave his famous “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia, where he seized the opportunity to address the controversy as an indication of a much larger issue, race relations in America and introduce his mission of moving the country toward “a more perfect union.” His speech often coined, “the Race Speech”, had several factors play into its success, one factor being the way the speech was delivered, his speech incorporated the jeremiad form and constitutive form of rhetoric, the use of those two forms helped Obama address the issue while at the same time creating an identity that would encompass all Americans who would then come together in this identity and work toward the solution of the race issue and providing the “American Dream” for everyone.

In the beginning of his speech, Obama discusses his family and their past, how his grandfather served the United States and was a veteran of World War II. He speaks about the name that was given to him, Obama, as being African and how his parents felt that it isnt your name that takes you places and makes you who you are, it your character, strength, and personality. He also descibes his encounters with that he

Though, knowing some of Obama’s background, it seems as if he was trying to get a point across. The point I have mention before, our differences should not separate us but unite us. Obama speech is inspiring, because he mentions how we all come from different backgrounds and we have our racist view points, but these points are simply from the past in which hardly anyone today has lived in. If we could overlook all the bad from the past and the negativity from being from different communities, we could have a better and stronger nation. Obama also uses his own background as a way to show how we can overcome different ethic backgrounds. It may be hard in some ways but as he states in his speech, “These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.” We are all apart of America, a country that we love, and we are surrounded by the people we love. Yes, we do come from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds, and some may be a mix of many. This is the inspiring part from his speech. Even though he gets many view points from his family and is from a mix of ethnic backgrounds, all that matters is that his family is apart of him and he loves them for who they are not the ethnicity.

Obama’s speech on race was a part of his campaign while he was running for the presidential election in 2009. He speaks to the American people with the purpose to gather them and with spirit of fellowship to creates a unity and patriotism. A unity where everyone stands together and in jointly could make the world a better place for everyone, no matter

Obama’s speech demonstrates certain points to engage the audience and to create a connection to emphasize its presence in the speech. One impactful technique he used is his anecdotes to prove his credibility to gain trust within the students. One anecdote that he clearly states is about African Americans are treated different decades ago and how certain races are not able to have the job they wanted, due to their skin tone. Furthermore, he adds his own research on this topic by explaining how “no blacks CEOs of Fortune 500 companies” (Mccaskill). This creates a sense of wisdom and satisfaction because, over time, society changed their views within people of color

This connects with Martin luther king letter of birmingham. Martin wrote the letter for the sake of injustice. Which now in today’s society there is a lot of injustice that is being spread around. Martin describe how the negroes was treated with disrespect due to all the violence from the whites. Martin have always wanted blacks to respond in a calm manner instead of fighting with hatred. You cannot get through the enemy with hatred. “We must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise” (Martin, 266). Martin agrees with loving our neighbor instead of showing fear and hatred towards them. “I have wept over the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love” (Martin,

The fight and work of getting equal rights from generations before us is something that must be continued and should not go to waste. In paragraph 6 of Barack Obama’s speech, it states “This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America.” Which means that the goal of Obama's campaign is to continue what generations before him did, which was to fight for what's right; for a union that's more equal, more free, more caring, and more successful. He doesn't want the fight to end. The fight for equality, has been going on for so many generations that letting it end will waste years and years of struggle and fighting that people in past generations had to do in order for our generations to get the equality we deserve. Barack Obama uses appeal to trust, also known as ethos, to persuade his audience that our country needs to come together and overlook racial

One of the biggest adversity’s Barack has faced is racism. Many people didn’t believe Barak could not become president do to the color of his skin. He experienced this all throughout his life starting in early childhood to the present.While he was in his early childhood, he remembers being made fun of for the color of his skin, he was left out and disliked. (Michael Nelson,2017,p.np.)

He also looks unfavorably at the white Christian churches that have not lent a hand to help their black brothers in the Christian religion. Overall, he is trying to show how his way of nonviolent direct action is the best way to solve racial injustices against blacks.

He acknowledges that the resentments of the black and white communities “aren’t always expressed in polite company,” but these resentments are manifested within our society in destructive ways, like racism (Obama, par. 31). The audience feels that he is knowledgeable and credible on the immediate topics affecting our future and our daily lives.

The election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s

Senator Barack Obama had many issues throughout his campaign. Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union”, delivered on March 18, 2008, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, conveyed many issues concerning racism throughout the United States, but it starts out stating how the founders of this nation constructed the Declaration of Independence, creating all men equal. Obama then begins to talk about his pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and his racial remarks against America and Israel, as it is “divisive at a time when we need unity”, referring to the “ two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis” going on at the time. (Obama 2) Obama remarks “I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas,” (Obama 1) because there is much criticism in his campaign due to his race. Obama argues that race is paralyzing our nation, and that it is still a major issue due to white privilege, and racial inequality. In the end, Obama hopes to move past the “racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years,” (Obama 6) and wishes to improve health care, jobs, schools, and other social issues for the United States.