Civil Rights By John Lewis Speech

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”, King asserts that the war in Vietnam is a “symptom” (7) of a much larger disease that affects the “American spirit” (7). The disease King mentions is causing destruction where ever it is found, and in the case of the Vietnam war, it has led to their oppression and the death of people. In the section, Strange Liberators, King states, “They move sadly and apathetically as we heard them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know they must move or be destroyed by our bombs” (8). King believed that the disease was leading the United States to take drastic actions against the Vietnamese people. The U.S.

In the essay “Let Justice Roll down”, Martin Luther King Jr wrote about the difficulties and social injustices faced by the negro population in America during the 1960’s. The main theme Dr. King was writing about in his yearly essay was the fight for civil justice and equality for all men and women. The essay chosen was written in 1965 and made very good points to the argument for equality made by Martin Luther King Jr. Three of these points included in the following paragraphs are the importance of Selma, AL to the rights movement, the importance of demonstrations, and a stronger focus on the Civil Rights Act.

Racism has always been a major problem in America. However, it was known to be the most problematic in the late 1950s. On August 28 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his infamous speech “I Have a Dream” to America. His dream highlighted the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that took place in this nation every single day. Dr. King inspired thousands despite the color of their skin, to take a stance against racism, with his powerful way with words. In his speech MLK efficaciously uses, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos by using allusions, developing credibility, in his speech to persuade all Americans to be aware of the problems with racism.

Does everyone deserve civil rights? John F. Kennedy believed so during the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Right Movement began around 1950 and ended around 1970. A few of the major leaders were Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and John F. Kennedy. The purpose of the Civil Rights Movement was to end discrimination and prejudice among whites and blacks. Many African Americans did not have the same rights as Caucasians mainly due to their skin being a different color. A famous speech delivered by John F. Kennedy was “The Nation Faces a Moral Crisis Regarding Race” on June 11, 1963 at Washington D.C.. A major theme of John F. Kennedy's speech was racism. In “The Nation Faces a Moral Crisis in Regard to Race”, John F. Kennedy inspires his intended audience during the Civil Rights Movement by using the rhetorical devices of tone and repetition.

Lewis, however, highlights these people whose lives will be greatly affected by decisions about and fights for civil rights so that those who are marching remember that the fight continues and has real consequences. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph demonstrate that he identifies with the concerns of grassroots activists across the country who could not attend the march, and he explains that he has doubts about this march doing enough if the movement does not focus more on the grassroots efforts of its members. (Ms. Pruden)

The marchers gathered at the Washington Monument before dawn as planned on August 28, 1963. At 11:30, 100,000 to 200,000 of them began marching towards the Lincoln Memorial singing “We Shall Overcome” (“The March on Washington” 12). At the memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered multiple speeches along with other African Americans about segregation and discrimination issues. During one of his speeches, King Jr. declared that “we will not hate you, but we cannot obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you…But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience, that we will win you in the process” (“Negro Protest Movement” 507). This statement by King Jr. describes his plans of further nonviolent protesting against “unjust laws” to convince others of the civil rights movement’s cause. He furthers this statement and elaborates his ideas in his infamous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

On August 28, 1963, John Lewis delivered his memorable speech on Washington to a 200,000 crowd of activist demanding peace and equality. Lewis’ purpose is to inspire others to join their march and make a mark on history. He adopts a demanding and bold tone in order to persuade the black activists and politicians to change the social norms and to join the social revolution. By demonstrating his demanding claims for equal rights to the politicians, whites, and African - Americans, John Lewis effectively utilizes syntax and diction to adequately get his message of hope, equality and desegregation.

John Lewis, now a US representative for Georgia, was an activist in the civil rights movement at the time of this speech. Lewis has been involved in politics for quite some time. He was one of the leaders that organized the March on Washington in 1963. All of this lead to the speech he gave on August 28th, 1963. When giving this speech, it is clear that he has the confidence of a strong leader. The larger underlying occasion in this speech, in other words, what is going on in the world that caused Lewis to give this speech, was the civil rights movement. At this time, the African Americans in America were protesting against the government in order to gain the rights they deserved. The immediate occasion, in this case, would, in fact, be the speech that Lewis is giving. During the March On Washington, Lewis gave a speech in order to persuade the people to get more involved with the civil rights movement. There are two audiences that Lewis addresses. He is addressing those that are physically at the location of the speech. These people are there in support of the civil rights movement. Then there is the rest of the world, specifically those who are against the civil rights movement. There is a time in the speech where Lewis calls out those who oppose the movement and, in summary, says that we will not sit in silence. The purpose of this speech is to persuade those who are in favor of the civil rights movement and hope that they become even more actively involved. Lewis

By the 1950’s and 1960’s, a breaking point was reached and blacks were tired of being mistreated. Many Civil Rights groups began to form, like the SNCC, and leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr., began to rise. As document 5 shows, these groups goals were to use peaceful protest and civil disobedience to demonstrate the societal unrest that is occurring and the need for political action. Upset at the racial injustice instigated by “Jim Crow Laws” and racism, these groups, through demonstrations such as the Greensboro Sit-ins, the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and the March on Washington, brought to public attention to the African Americans’ dreams of to finally getting the rights they were promised with emancipation. This could be further demonstrated by the “I Have a Dream” Speech. In this speech, given in March of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. discusses a future for America that lives by the standard that all men are created equal. This outside resource, along with various other movements, lead to further public outcry. As document 6 shows this grew to a point to where political action needed to be done. To Kennedy and his successor (Lyndon B. Johnson), this was a huge moral issue that couldn’t be ignored or else the nation would tear itself apart. This ultimately lead to the passing of the acts like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act. These acts were a major victory and largely paved the way to future equality for African

In the year of 1963 America was a horrible place to live for the African-American, as they had to fight, sometimes with words and some with fists, but they had to fight for the privilege of earning the right side of the hyphen. In the year of 1963 the African-American had to fight to earn the unalienable rights that they were supposedly guaranteed, Martin Luther King Jr. was just one leader for the African-Americans to unite behind and wage this “war” for their freedom. In this essay I will be showing ways that MLK used his words to attempt to earn African-Americans their rights.In the famous “I have a dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that was addressed to a gigantic crowd of all races at the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” MLK is responding to criticism from 8 white clergymen while in jail in Birmingham, Alabama. In both of these selections MLK uses two types of

John Lewis, now a US representative for Georgia, was an activist in the civil rights movement at the time of this speech. Lewis has been involved in politics for quite some time. He was one of the leaders that organized the March on Washington in 1963. All of this leads to the speech he gave on August 28th, 1963. When giving this speech, it is clear that he has the confidence of a strong leader. The larger underlying occasion in this speech, in other words, what is going on in the world that caused Lewis to give this speech, was the civil rights movement. At this time, the African Americans in America were protesting against the government in order to gain the rights they deserved. The immediate occasion, in this case, would, in fact, be

John Lewis clarifies in the first line of paragraph 8 of his speech that the possibility of surrendering is extremely low. They will fight for their rights nonstop, and march threw the whole world hoping to open people’s eyes along the way. They won’t stop until they find a way to wake up america and accept new changes .To illustrate the idea that the author is trying to give, he believes that every person will acknowledge their protest/march, hopefully to accept them, and letting them become part of their world. The significance of this speech is that, it speaks out to everyone, making them believe in hope and a future to look ahead for. John Lewis reminds the audience that he always carried hope within him, he knew his message would reach every single person that is in the same crisis as them. “We will march through the South; through the streets of Jackson, through the streets of Danville, through the streets of Cambridge, through the streets of Birmingham.” (paragraph 9), he reminds the audience and the colored people that there’s still a chance, and to never lose hope, many will believe they're the only one’s fighting for this protest, but in reality there not, millions of other colored people are standing back to back fighting together: They're all fighting for the same cause as they are, and they haven’t given up

Lewis immediately makes this clear when he declares that, “We march today for jobs and freedom, but we have nothing to be proud of.” (para. 1) Lewis’ statement infers that the civil right leader and protesters are marching for equality in all senses. Even though they are doing this they shouldn’t be proud of themselves. From this, the readers can infer that Lewis’ was truly dedicated to the movement. He wanted to explain/ illustrate how the African Americans have been mistreated. By this, he expresses that he wants to see progress in the civil rights bill to create everyone as a full equal under law. To further illustrate his argument, Lewis goes on to using different anecdotes to build credibility towards his argument. He states, “While we stand here there are students in jail on trumped-up charges. Our brother James Farmer, along with many others, is also in jail.” Basically, Lewis is saying that those who are protesting in Washington are lucky. They are lucky to be there and not in any of the positions others are in. Lewis uses anecdotal evidence to build credibility to his argument. His stories about those in bad positions help to illustrate the injustices the African-Americans go

As illustrated in his graphic novel, March, John Lewis was an important leader in the Civil Rights movement, alongside other well-known leaders, such as Martin Luther King and Malcom X. He helped lead people to a way of non-violently protesting the segregation and the cruelty surrounding the African-American community. Without him, the protests could have easily devolved from calmly standing for something that they believe in to filling the streets with blood and violence from both sides. All his life, he has recognized the unfairness that he could see all around him, and he never liked it. Whether it was watching his preacher drive away in a very nice car while others were struggling (Lewis and Aydin 1: 54) or seeing the white students using

He delivered his speech at the March on Washington D.C. The purpose of the March was to stand up for civil and economic rights for African Americans during the time of racism. John Lewis was 23 years old when he addressed a crowd of over 200,000 people at the March on Washington D.C for Jobs and Freedom. John didn’t know the impact the it was going to make on the following years. Lewis had to rewrite the speech he was about to give at the March in Washington. The March Administration had heard what he planned to say and they didn’t like the way he had worded his speech. John Lewis states, “I’m not speaking for myself, I’m speaking for my colleagues in SCNN, and for the people in the Delta and the black belt. You haven’t been there, Mr. Wilknis. You do not understand” (Lewis and Aydin 2:163). By making this comment Lewis, is trying to let this people know that he can’t change his speech because they don’t know how they feel. They haven’t been through all the things they have faced during this time. He is trying to make them understand that he is speaking for the students, who are impatient for a change. His message was that they couldn’t wait anymore. He states, “You tell us to wait. You tell us to be patient. We cannot wait. We cannot be patient. We want our freedom and we want it now” (Lewis and Aydin 2:170). In other words, they want to see change they were tired of waiting they wanted their rights and freedom. People