Nelson Mandela once said, “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” Two civil rights leaders, Malcolm X and Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. showed their hopes in their choices. These two leaders, both wished to achieve racial equality. Dr. King’s message in his “I Have a Dream” speech was that the only way to achieve racial equality was by integration. In his speech, he used long, eloquent sentences with very vivid imagery to show his tone of hope and optimism and to aid his message of brotherly love, hope, and integration. This message could have possibly been affected by his background. Dr. King was raised in a very loving home with two parents who tried everything they could to shield him from the ugly racism outside, but he was …show more content…
His family was constantly on the run from hate groups wherever they moved too, until his father was found dead on the train tracks. The police had declared his death an accident, despite the suspicious nature of his death. Soon, he fell into the wrong group of people and soon got arrested multiple times. It is easy to see how each man came to the conclusion about what they wanted, but we have to look even deeper if we want to look at how they portrayed these messages One of the ways that Dr. King brought change was through his message of hope and optimism for the future, and his long, eloquent sentences that proved that he was a man of intelligence that should’ve been listened to. In Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech he makes clear his belief that racial equality can only be achieved by integration. This can be best describes when he states “I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right here in Alabama little black [African-Americans] boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white [Caucasian] boys and little white girls as sisters and brothers.” (King 5) Dr. King discusses how he believes that if the Caucasian
Martin Luther King Jr in his speech “I Have a Dream” furthers his purpose of demonstrating himself as a leader to his community in regard to fighting against slavery and segregation by effectively employing pathos, logos and ethos.
Near the end of Martin Luther King’s speech a gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Dr. King saying, “Tell them about the dream, Martin”. At this point Dr. King stopped reading the speech and expressed his inner feelings saying “I have a dream..”(Mlk, 4). He continued to tell the crowd of his dream for the Negros to be free and equal and that they would be able to live happily and do as they pleased. He had a dream that America would live out the meaning of the constitution stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”. He tells the crowd that at the end “We are free at last”. Dr. King’s choice of words and the tone in which he delivers his speech is enticing and pleasing to the crowd of America.
Dr. King used pathos and logos as well as ethos in his speech to appeal to the audience in a more emotional way. He mostly attempts to appeal to the audiences’ emotions, fears, and desires. When King repeats with the infamously famous quote, “I have a dream,” he stresses a sense of sympathy and hope towards the African American population during that time period. King states that the, “Negro…finds himself in exile in his own land.” In this phrase, King yields compassion as one can see when he emphasizes the unfair treatment and alienation of the African Americans. King also uses highly connotative language so that he could evoke a, emotional response to the audience such as, “chains of discrimination” and “oppression” to reinforce the need
John F. Kennedy’s speech was proving to the nation, and world, that with him, nothing could bring America down. “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty” (Kennedy 511). Martin Luther King delivered a much more emotional speech which showed he was extremely genuine about his cause. In “I Have a Dream”, Martin uses his beliefs and past experiences to join the people together. Martin lived in a time where all Americans were promised “the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King 371), but the white men still segregated the black men.
In Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech, King talks about how unequal the treatment between African Americans and whites were. His views America as a segregated country. In many instances, he talks about slavery and how oppressed the slaves were. King uses many anaphoras such as “Negro” and “inequality” to convey his ideas. One of his most repeated phrases and his most famous one is “I have a dream”, after which he talks of a country without any segregation or discrimination. During his speech, King says “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. He views America as one that is split. During that time period, there was segregation and discrimination. His dream involves an America that will be united where people can see each other as equals. This is the main idea behind speech. After each of these phrases, King says “I have a dream today”, which signifies that this is a big issue and needs to be resolved quickly. In this speech, King describes America as one that is divided, where the promise of equality is a lie.
Dr. King hopes that African-American will one day be free from discrimination, racism, and segregation. He also hopes that African-American will not be judged by their skin, but rather by their personality and character. Dr. King dreams that African-American will one day be allowed to sit in the same dining room as White American. He also dreams that the state of Mississippi and Georgia will abolish discrimination and segregation. He also hopes that African-American and White American will be equal to each other. He also hopes that African-American will have the same rights as White American. Martin Luther King also hopes that African-American will be employed at the same job as White American. He also hopes that African-American will be allowed to vote and to be treated the same as White American. Dr. King also hopes that African-American will not be beaten by the police. He also hopes that America will be a place of freedom for people of all racial and religious background. He also wishes that African-American will not be denied services. His speech also warns his audience about the black nationalism movement. He tells his audience that they should not let the black nationalism movement changes and distorts their views about the white allies of the
King’s goal of integration between blacks and whites was a prominent theme in his 1963 I Have a Dream speech, where he spoke to over “250,000 people.” (Integrative" Rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech,” 2006 para 2). “I have a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will sit down together at the table of brotherhood." (“I Have a Dream,” 1963). He promoted integration and discouraged discrimination through his peaceful lunch-counter sit-ins, bus boycotts and marches and demonstrations.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’" (King 12). Dr. King used his resources to relate to the Declaration of Independence When it says that "all men are created equal." Today, everyone, black, white, yellow, male, or female, enjoy equal rights. “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” (King 4). Unconditional love for all peoples is a great quality that King had, and many people today have modeled after. “When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children” (King 12). Now, all children are permitted in amusement parks. Many black children also couldn’t get an education. Today everyone from kindergarten to twelfth grade is entitled to acquire a free education. “I have a dream that … children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (King 18). Now, people are judged by their character. Anyone can achieve anything today, no matter who they are. It doesn’t matter the race, it doesn’t
On August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King gave his first “I have a dream” speech. He presented his speech at the Lincoln Memorial to make a point about the injustices of segregation and how to stop all the racism against African Americans. He wants to show that one day everyone will be free and be able to participate in obstacles no matter what your skin color is. King uses ethos, pathos and logos throughout his speech to help grab the audience’s attention and make them want to do as he says.
King’s speech is a long educational essay on how and why everyone should be equal and become family and close friend with one another like we are today. King said “ I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” What Dr. King meant was in the future he want his children - all children to be able to have the chance to be judge on how they act and not their skin color . In the Nobody Turns me around: A People’s Story History Of The March On Washington , Dr. King states ,”We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation . He meant that we as people can not just be satisfied with nothing there is more out there waiting and we are not just watch it go down the drain .
Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. are seen as national heroes for the significant message they represent, liberty and unity. Throughout history, minorities have been oppressed and courageous men like Lincoln and King worked hard to liberate them. President Lincoln ended the Civil War and Dr. King was an activist in the Civil Rights movement. Both the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement lead to unity and freedom. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address’ addresses the theme of freedom by having a nation where independence reigns by abolishing slavery. Conversely, in King’s I Have a Dream Speech, the theme of freedom is addressed by ending segregation and discrimination in America. Lincoln’s theme of unity is ending the war to unify the nation to improve it. Similarly, King’s theme of unity is ending the division of races in the nation and working together towards a better future.
Two men of faith who had tremendous power in what they said and believed could move and motivate the masses with their words. Martin Luther King Jr’s, “I Have a Dream” Speech which will be remembered history as one of the most memorable speeches in American that called for the urgency in the lack of equality and broken promises of African Americans by the American government. Malcolm X’s, God’s Judgment of White America (The Chickens Come Home to Roost) released later the same year of 1963, continued to respond on the inequality of African Americans, but also explained the end of White America was coming. “How the enslavement of millions of black people in this country is now bringing White America to her hour of Judgment.” (X) Both trying to raise awareness of the struggles of African American population and that things needed to change since nothing had really changed since the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. “One hundred years later, the life of the negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” (King) My goal in this essay is to explain the similarities and differences of these two speeches and the two perspectives of these men during the Civil rights movement in the 1960’s.
Dr. King's speech was focused on the segregation of races. The primary theme of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech is to not be judgmental towards others because of the way they may look, because everyone is equal. Martin Luther King Junior's goal was to persuade the nation to believe in equality between people of all races. The speech was an accomplishment because it prompted people to change their ways and see that everyone is equal on the inside, even though everyone looks different on the
The Martin Luther King we do not see is a man not afraid to truly express his thoughts and beliefs. As a nation, we celebrate Martin Luther King’s fight for equality. Not only for a certain nationality or race but for all people. Within American society, there was a lot of unfairness Martin Luther King brought attention to it. He made a speech about Vietnam which was not as publicized as his I have a dream speech. The reasons behind this are “because national news media have never come to terms with what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for during his final years” (Solomon, Cohen). In this speech, Martin Luther King makes points about the government questioning their motives for war. America glosses over this speech, because of the facts being
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than forty years ago, Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech demanded racial justice towards the mistreated black community of America. The theme of the speech was that all humans were created equal and that this should be the case for the future of America. King's words proved to touch the hearts of millions of people and gave the nation a vocabulary to express what was happening to the black Americans. This did not happen by chance. Martin Luther King's speech was carefully constructed so it would have the most appropriate diction to propose his facts and ideas. His speech involved multiple different literary techniques which were very