Response To Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream

In this letter King is defending his born right to use strategies of nonviolent resistance against racism. If every African American

King’s letter is full of powerful and motivating quotes. King explained the topic of freedom and how it was difficult for the African Americans to achieve, he stated: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (68). The African Americans, specifically the leaders, went through extremely tough and painful experiences. According to King, for the African Americans to achieve freedom they had to fight for it, because the oppressors refused to give freedom to their victims. King knew this because of the many different painful experiences him and the other leaders experienced to receive their

Marisol Jaslyn Pena Professor Caleb Camacho English 1302 February 15, 2017 Annotated bibliography Argument: The next future generation must be persuaded to stand up for what they believe in and not be too scared to make a change in the world. They need to leave their mark in the world.

We live in a world with currently many conflicts from the racial disparity in high incarceration rates to gun violence and the war over gun rights. In his letter, King describes that Black Americans have no identity and that the oppressed cannot remain oppressed forever. King implies that they cannot be told to “wait for justice” because if they simply

Deluged with remarkable linguistics, King’s rhetoric wholly epiphanized and unified a country that had been stricken with unrest by war and hate and thus became the epitome of the March on Washington and the summation of the Civil Rights Movement Summarized Speech The speech encapsulates the desire to remain equal among the exalted American people, those of White color. At the outset King utilizes a policy signed 100 years ago as reference to a declaration of freedom that has only been contorted to produce new boundaries on freedom;

“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.” (King). King calms the African Americans who are being oppressed by using the words, “this situation can and will be changed.” and “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.” which gives them hope that there will be a new day when a change will take place.

In a similar light, King addressed the speech ‘I have a dream’ to a peaceful mass gathering in Washington asking for change. The speech deemed racial segregation to be an inhumane practice that subdivides society into groups that essentially alienate them from the true sense of humanity; which is brotherhood. King argues that all people are created equal and directly challenged the outdated and abhorrent views that upheld the false flag of racial superiority among White Americans. Luther’s speech was a passionate rhetoric that preached his views about the future. Furthermore his speech did not

King was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was located and enforced in every state in the South. This was an organization for African American civil rights. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (Page 204) King establishes that when the world opens their eyes into reality and realizes the inequality, there will be a greater problem than before. An increase in protestors, means the greater retaliation will be against the law and when there’s retaliation against the law, then people with justice are afraid.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses both logical and emotional appeals in order for all his listeners’ to be able to relate and contemplate his speeches. He does an exceptional job using both these appeals throughout his speeches by backing up his emotional appeals with logical ones. Using emotional appeals captures an audience's attention and makes them think about what the narrator is saying. Emotional appeal uses intense words and charged language to grab listeners to get them to keep listening. On the other hand, logical appeals helps to grasp the concept better and provides facts that prove it to be true.

He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In both of these, he used pathos and logos to appeal to the audience and fit the occasion, so that he can make the people do something about segregation and defend his ideas in an effective way. If he would not have spoken up and had influenced people to follow him, the world could have ended up still having segregation today. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the biggest visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used pathos and logos in his speech to draw in people so he can make them act and he used pathos and ethos in his letter to defend his ideas using his knowledge of the audience and the occasion.

The main idea of his speech is that all people were created equal and, although this is no longer the case nowadays, King felt it must be the case for the future. He argued peacefully, yet passionately and powerfully. In preparation for the speech, he studied the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence and he alludes to all three in his address. The intensity of King’s speech is built through parallelism, metaphors, bold statements and rhythmic repetitions:

There is a disagreement in society. It is a disagreement and an argument that has been continuing for many generations, and will continue for many generations after this one. It is a disagreement of oppression, a disagreement of injustice, a disagreement of racial discrimination. This disagreement had been discussed, and argued as well as against it has even been written about. In Martin Luther King Junior’s ‘I have a dream speech’ this racial disagreement is discussed and spoken about in front of thousands of people and became one of the most referenced and influential speeches in history.

He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans. King skillfully evokes an emotional response from all races with the use of religion: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” By doing this he finds a common ground that brings black and whites closer with a common belief in God they share, as well as the mention of

In 1963, Martin Luther King delivered one of the most influential and impactful speeches in history. King's I Have a Dream speech was consistently powerful assertions of emotional appeals, repetition and paradox. In King’s speech, he utilizes pathos to build a relationship between his black and white audience. This is evident through his references to both  black and white children and the history of slavery which appealed to the audience members of the older generation.

Therefore this makes people see racism in a whole new light; racism has not been justified because the United States have failed to uphold their promises. Kings goes on to say how racial equality can not be achieved until “...justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (King). He deliberately tries to make the audience feel as if racial segregation is both wrong and against basic morals. Martin Luther King’s most famous speech, “I Have a Dream” was the changing point for racism in America. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans feel ashamed of their actions.