March On Washington Speech Analysis

John Lewis has never let his 40+ arrest affect what he stands for. In Lewis’ book March, he tells his story of segregation in the 60’s and the events that shaped his life. From when he was a little kid, to an older adult, March displays Lewis deal with the segregation in the south, and the hard ships others endure. Although he experienced many events in his life, John Lewis used those events to build himself religiously and help others. Receiving his first bible, Jim Lawsons workshops, his decision not to go to college and Martin Luther King’s speech all helped him become who he is.

Another element that Lewis fused together to make this sermon powerful was his use of ethos (credibility/character). John Lewis keeps using his credibility and character to sway people towards his claim in his speech. In his sermon, he is one with the people that he was addressing. He has the viewpoint of the African-American community and he has been a notable figure that used the principles of nonviolence to bring about change. This all goes in to help factor his credibility, which was obviously pretty strong. For example in his presentation, he mentions ,“By and large, American politics is dominated by politicians who build their careers on immoral compromises and ally themselves with open forms of political, economic, and social exploitation. There are exceptions, of course. We salute those” (Lewis 1963). This shows how he establishes his own credibility in this matter by appearing very educated on this topic. He manages to explain in

John Lewis has never let his 40+ arrest affect what he stands for. In Lewis’ book March, he tells his story of segregation in the 60’s and the events that shaped his life. From when he was a little kid, to an older adult, March displays Lewis deal with the segregation in the south, and the hardships others endure. Although he experienced many events in his life, John Lewis used those events to build himself religiously and help others. Receiving his first bible, Jim Lawson’s workshops, his decision not to go to college and Martin Luther King’s speech all helped him become who he is.

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)

Knowing this man is to love this man. He has been a great role model for and during the civil rights movement and so much more. This man’s name is John Lewis Others may say he is someone who just wanted to start trouble and he should leave things the way they were. By analyzing his early life, his education, becoming a civil rights activist, and a U.S. Congressman, I will be able to show you why I think he is a great person all around. It is also clear that John Lewis shaped his time.

In March book 2, author and activist, John Lewis, delivered a speech on August 28, 1963. Before John Lewis delivered his speech, there was a lot of ciaos occurring backstage about revising Lewis’ speech. Mr. Randolph wasn’t pleased with the way John Lewis worded parts of his speech and demanded for him to change it. After Lewis negotiated with Mr. Randolph, Lewis was still content with the arrangement of his speech. Lewis confronts his sentiments to the people regarding racial inequality. He emphasizes on the unfair acts that are implemented among the African American working class. John Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day” (Lewis Aydin 166). In this statement, Lewis explains his reasoning for assembling his speech. His objective was to arouse the public on the realism of the nation’s unjust behavior towards African Americans. Lewis explains the march on Washington is occurring because blacks don’t receive the same wages as whites. Lewis declares, “We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now” (Lewis Aydin 169). He proclaims that African Americans have been fighting for their freedom long enough and they are not willing to be patient. With his skillful use of appeals, Lewis applies powerful logos to illustrate racism, emotional pathos to connect with the audience, and ethos to appeal to the segregation and discrimination towards African Americans.

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)

John Lewis begins his historical speech by addressing their reasons for the march and how they have a tough road ahead of them.The description on the first line of the first paragraph is a perfect illustration of foreshadowing. The reason is that it specify for what they will be talking about and why it must be changed. That is to say, How Lewis believes that it isn't right to just get paid inequality. From this statement, readers can infer that there is some determination within Lewis to deliver his message out to the world. To further illustrate this theme, of challenging the society and the politicians who are trying to stop them. The author describes, the unjust in wages, and one day they will end up in jail just because of their skin color. In other words, Lewis believes that the economic system does not even give them to feed themselves but not even a whole family. John Lewis implies one has to be strong and stand by the people who are fighting for their freedom. To sum, up the first paragraph is the initiative to his speech that builds up the colored had more courage and the politicians with more guilt. (Nayeli Lazaro)

John Lewis initiates his claim by conveying that everyone in America should not tolerate racial segregation nor discrimination. In order to reach to his point, he uses the rhetorical device, pathos, in which it causes the “white” audience to feel remorse for what society has become. To illustrate this idea, Lewis reveals African Americans “live in constant fear of a police state”, “have been arrested on trumped charges”, and some faced “the death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest” (paragraph 2). The evidence highlights that they are going through hardships caused by the federal government because they are considered “inferior” compared to the “white” race. From this, readers can infer that white supremacy is being marked on the walls. Lewis is able to awaken Americans so they can realize how their actions are wounding African Americans. In addition, Lewis is representing the African American community so they can feel inspired to join the Civil Rights Movement. Possibly the speaker is trying to drag the African Americans out of their state of oblivion by incentivizing them to defend their rights. Lewis is addressing the problems to both audiences so they can feel the urge to fix them. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph reveal that he identifies with the concerns of African Americans and how whites, mainly activists, should focus on addressing their issues.

It was after a group of young men start attacking to part of John Lewis’s group and eventually beating up everyone around. He declares, “I was not afraid. I felt free, liberated like I had crossed over” (Lewis and Aydin 1:102). The beginning of new era had begun, a new John Lewis who was not afraid of anything. His commitment with the movement was unparalleled. It shows how strong his personality is, maybe he is trying to say that nothing was going to stop him…. What was the worst thing that could happen to him? Go to jail? Again? Seems like he is always going to make his best effort to make this country a little bit better… just like he says, “We wanted to change America – to make it something different, something better.” (Lewis and Aydin 1:103). It was not about him or a reduced group of people, it was about an oppressed community that was suffering injustice as we can’t even imagine. Lewis also says, “The first of many” (Lewis and Aydin 1:103). Just in case we did not understand his first message, this one was clear and loud, he will keep protesting no matter what or who. Unfortunately, his parents did not in the same way as he did with the news of his first arrest. He tells us, “When my parents found out I’d been arrested and gone to jail, they were devastated. I was an embarrassment, a source of

He had been arrested numerous times, beaten, and still remained a vital role in the civil rights movement. He would later be known as a member of the “Big Six”, (Vol 2, 150) consisting of Martin Luther King, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Jim Farmer, Whitney Young and himself. The injustices at the time lead to a much needed March on the nation's capital: Washington. Though Lewis’ speech seems to to be less well known as Martin Luther King’s, it was a great accomplishment for the civil rights movement. One of my favorite Lewis speech lines was “We will splinter the segregated south into a thousand pieces, and put them together in the image of god and democracy”. (Vol 2,

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

Listening to Martin Luther King’s speech changed the way Lewis viewed everyday activities, he felt like he was not doing his part by sitting on the sidelines. “Dr. King’s message hit me like a bolt of lightning. He applied the principles of the church to what was happening now, Today. It was called the Social Gospel and I felt like he was preaching directly to me.” (Lewis Aydin 56). Lewis could not get enough information on MLK, he had to go to the library and look up everything he could about this man. This changed Lewis by opening his eyes to a bigger better world. He felt that MLK was different from any other leader and that’s exactly what Lewis wanted to do, but didn’t know how so his uncle took him on a trip to Buffalo.

After reading and analyzing Dr.Kings “Remaining Awake during a Revolution” commencement speech that he presented at Oberlin College during his graduation ceremony; he wanted the people to have a good visual on what he was explaining and talking about. King wanted to inform the people about what was going; so he used allusions, statics, and logos.

This book makes clear that the struggle for racial equality was nationwide and not just isolated to certain geographical locations. A common misconception about the civil rights movement is that blatant racism was a problem only encountered in the Deep South. However, Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour does a great job of clarifying this misconception and showing the many elements of the struggle for justice that blacks from coast to coast experienced.