King's Dream

He had a dream. In August 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. electrified America with his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, dramatically delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He stood as a proud black man, speaking of racial injustice and his dream of seeing American citizens come together as a united nation regardless of race and background. Today his speech is one of the most famous speeches in history. Although the speech was presented 54 years ago, it is still relevant today due to the racial discrimination that people have faced recently and are still facing today. Everyone is not treated fairly. African-Americans are treated especially poorly. The level of black youth poverty was higher in 2015 than it was in 1968. Another example of

By the time of the 1963 ‘I Have a Dream’ speech at the March on Washington, King had become the voice of the various perspectives of life as a Black American. He now expressed the universal voice of all his people, and he was not afraid to use it in the pursuit of equality for Blacks (Branch, 881-3). Martin Luther King’s Birmingham campaign would prove to be the

100 years after the delivery of the Emancipation Proclamation delivered by President Abraham Lincoln, a young man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also known as the father of the modern civil rights movement, would stand on stage in Washington D.C. and deliver a speech to over 250,000 people known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. Arguably, one of the most memorable speeches of all time, Dr. King would raise the issues of social injustice, police brutality, and racial segregation. Hoping to one day see equality, unity, and equity prevail in the United States. As promised by our forefathers, all Americans would have unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Dr. King would resonate this message in hopes that all would hear and that things would change for the better.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist and first hand witness of mistreatment of African Americans from the mid-1950s until April 4, 1968 when he was assassinated. He was a black man who grew up during a time of segregation and injustice. King Jr. came from a loving and structured home in which his father was an influential role model and a had a big impact on his future professions. Religion was also a large part of his life and was one of the biggest influences for his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. In this contextual analysis I will be summarizing the historical context of King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” and how it impacted his social standing and life's work. I will be exploring how Martin Luther King Jr.’s upbringing set the stage for his civil rights activism involvement and allowed him to become one of the most famous African Americans in the twentieth century.

On August 28th 1963, Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, King confronts the mistreatment of the African American community and the lack of free will they contain in society. Throughout the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement took place, influenced by centuries of cruelty towards the African Americans.. The most influential speech in the modern era was said in front of thousands of Civil Rights activists who all shared a common goal; to fight for the respect and to be treated as equals within the United States.

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.

On August 28, 1963, people around the nation tuned into hear several civil rights speeches going on in Washington. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those civil rights speakers, and that day he gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. In Dr. Martin Luther King Juniors speech, he spoke about unifying the nation, to create a place where Americans “will not be judged by the color of your skin but by the content of your character.”(2) He shocked the nation into actions advising that they’re will be a “rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.”(1) Thankfully, many people in America were changed, and wanted to make a difference after

Late in the summer of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most controversial speeches in American history. His goal was to make all men and women both civilly and economically equal with nonviolent protests, courtly worded speeches, and pacifistic marches. Since his time African Americans have been granted more freedoms, but they have not yet reached equality of the white man. A comparison of his America and America today would reveal that his dream has yet become a reality, and the bad check of yesterday has yet to be refunded. Dr. King butters up his speech with an astonishing metaphorical language, a phraseology that can be interpreted in two different ways, and a call to come together.

Civil rights activist, Matin Luther King Jr., in his “I Have a Dream” speech, addresses the inequalities that were prevalent in America in the 1960s. King’s purpose is to demand societal change, so that all people are equal without separation based on race. He adopts a powerful tone in order to inspire the African Americans to nonviolently protest the inequalities present in their communities.

Martin Luther King discusses several points that all relate to the same topic, which was the freedom of Negroes. King uses the example of a bank to make his point come across clearer, without floundering in a literal blame session: “ America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” (King 2) Where Caucasians would typically believe themselves to be over African Americans, they can relate to both islands and banks, therefore putting them on an even field, and allowing them to obtain ideas openly. His speech is based on his Dream, which is a dream of freedom and equality. King mentions the point that still, after a hundred years of signing the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans are still not free. He shows the similarities between the occasion at which he speaks and “cashing a check,” on which “America has defaulted… A check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” (King 2) Those two topics are most mentioned and pointed out within King’s speech which are freedom and justice for African Americans. He demands on perseverance of the Negro

“[The] Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation…,” stated Martin Luther King, Jr., in his speech “I Have a Dream,” which he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 during a march on Washington (1). King’s purpose in this speech was to expound on the need for change in Civil Rights, especially for black Americans. By utilizing an extended metaphor, light & dark imagery, and repetition, Martin Luther King, Jr.,connects logically and emotionally to his audience to evoke a sense of power to overcome racism.

The, “I Have a Dream” speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is arguably the most emotionally moving and persuasive speech of all time. But, to understand the speech one must first understand the context. At this time, the slave era was far gone but, not forgotten. Negro men and women were still experiencing segregation in the 1960’s. There was negro bathrooms, negro schools, negro water fountains, and even negro restaurants. Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential black man who took on the fight for equality. King presents his speech to a crowded Lincoln memorial — the same Lincoln who delivered the Emancipation Proclamation which freed enslaved Negros in the south nearly a hundred years before. King’s speech, later known as the, “I

Through his words in the “ I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr inspires change to create a more just society. Martin Luther King Jr believes our past shouldn't define our future, that the future shouldn't be the same as our past. In his speech he says “ 100 years later the Negro still is not free. 100 years later the life of a Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” One hundred years later Martin Luther King sees the United States as unchanged, he views segregation and discrimination as a different type of slavery.

In the words of Lyndon B. Johnson, “Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men’s skin, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.” These words could not relate anymore to Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior and Malcolm X who were both trying to come up with a resolution to gain racial equality. These two strong leaders both had very different approaches and viewed the way to get racial equality very differently. Those differences were shown through their powerful speeches. Dr. King’s message in the speech “I Have a Dream” given at the March on Washington in 1963, was full of inspiration and hope. He believed that racial equality could only be achieved by integration. Dr. King grew up in a very family oriented and loving household. Both his father and grandfather were baptist ministers at a local church. His religious role models helped to later influence him to believe that segregation was against his religion. Dr. King acquired a very good sense of what was right and was wrong at a young

This critical evaluation essay will be on Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream”. This speech was delivered during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on 28 August 1963. This march was initially organized to focus on the economy, but as the date grew near, the focus shifted to social issues in the country. This march was attended by more than two hundred thousand people, to include the many actors, musicians, and the civil rights leaders. Martin Luther King said “I am happy to join you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation”. (King). Martin Luther King not only touch the hearts of so many that day, and on that he made people aware that there was work