Analysis of “I Have a Dream” and “Letter to Birmingham Jail” In the “Letter to Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King addresses the criticisms and objections that the white clergymen had made towards his and his affiliated organization’s efforts in trying to end segregation and achieve his and his people’s birth right: the right to be free through nonviolent means. Through the “I Have a Dream Speech” King speaks to his supporters and as well as to the entire nation to make them be fully aware of the injustices they are facing and through this make them stand up to those injustices. Both “Letter to Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream Speech” have the same underlying meaning however. That way too long have the black community been treated wrongly. That way too long have the black nation been “judged by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character (King 815)” and therefore it is time for them to rise and stand up for their rights.
Literary Analysis-by Bobby Adams Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" The speech made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the low level of freedom and respect black people had. His speech was widely known throughout the country and was very moving. In Dr. King Jr.'s speech, he discusses and asserts freedom and liberty for the black community, who have been treated so awfully, unfairly, and disrespectfully through the years. He claims to have a 'Dream' where all men are actually equal and not separated and segregated. A dream where Mississippi and the surrounding states has total freedom and justice.
He was a man who demanded respect for African-Americans during the Civil Rights movement, and for all working people throughout his career as a Labor organizer. Randolph demand freedom and human rights for all oppressed people. This paper will solely focus on his labor movement and how it paved the way for African Americans today. Asa Philip Randolph, son of a Southern minister, was born on April 15, 1889, at Crescent City, Florida. At a very young age Randolph enjoyed reading; he sensed that education was of vital importance to him.
Stacy Keith September 1, 2013 American Dream In the readings of Malcolm X and August Wilson their understanding of the American Dream was very much the same. Malcolm X’s vision was of a world of universal brotherhood in which each person would be respected and loved as a child of God. He was opposed to racism, male supremacy, religious intolerance, capitalism, and all its manifestations. Malcom X had a vision and that was an American Revolution for all of us. August Wilson wanted to show and hopefully help people to understand and realize the sacrifices and the struggles African American’s went through decade by decade.
Darnell Jones English II Ms.Felder January 23rd, 2011 Martin-Malcolm Compare/Contrast Essay Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are very much similar when focusing on there goals and dreams for the future and lives of the African-American people. They also have distinct differences that are very inconspicuous. They each wanted everyone to unite together and be able to be intertwined with one another. This essay would describe their similarities from words said, to differences such as religion and certain beliefs each had. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael King Jr. and later changed his name when he got older.
Malcolm X has been considered one of the most influential leaders in African American history. He was one of the most active advocates for black rights and rejected the mainstream ideas of civil rights leader such as Martin Luther King Jr. (Rollyson “Malcolm X”). Through speeches such as Message to Grassroots, Malcolm X uses the “house negro” and the “field negro” as a metaphor for the difference between the movement towards integration advocated by Martin Luther King and the Nation if Islam’s movement towards separation. He calls for unified opposition to stand up and fight against the white man. Malcolm X conveys in this speech the anger and fear that lived in the hearts of most African American at the time.
And he wonders aloud “what atonement would the God of justice demand for the robbery of Black people’s labour, their lives, their true identities, their culture, their history and even their human dignity?” Concerning this demand of justice, Malcolm, contends that part of understanding the will of God is to understand his will for humans to be free, to live lives of dignity and decency and humans’ unthinkable responsibility to struggle to free them. In Malcolm’s liberation theology, we are living in a time of great transition, which marks “the end of White supremacy.” And our liberation struggle and those of the masses of the peoples of the world are “all part of God’s plan” and will for us and others “to establish a world based on freedom, justice, equality” and peace. We are for Malcolm, then, morally obligated not only to be serious students of history, but also a moral vanguard and midwives of history, engaged in the awesome and on-going labour and struggle of liberation in its most dignity-affirming, life-enhancing and world-encompassing form. Here Malcolm would argue we must turn our preaching and prayers into practice, our anger at injustice into corrective action, and our rightful longing for a new world into the hard work and struggle to bring it into
John F. Kennedy’s “Civil Rights Address” "We preach freedom around the world…that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes." President Kennedy was describing our society when he addressed the nation after the controversial decision to admit two qualified Negroes into the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He said that the university should be place for all to have "equal chance to develop their talents." Kennedy's speech consisted of specific issues affecting the nation and its foundation of freedom. President Kennedy shows awareness of the current issue of segregation using imagery, appropriate language, and tone, which assures the public with compelling remarks that he appreciates those who are making a change and requiring the help of others to change the view of this nation.
In his “I Have a Dream Speech” he is more so talking to the white majority that has held him and all of the other colored people being segregated against and to the black people that want to make a difference in history and further the civil rights movement and get the rights they deserve. Once he has his target audience engaged, much like in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” his language becomes very simple and direct again. The difference is, he is now urging direct action . His tone becomes more “preacher like” as he says “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) His assumptions of the basis of American society (religion, founding fathers, and the American Dream) enable him to keep his intended audience paying attention for what he most wanted to convey—the emotional battle of those involved in the campaign for civil rights.
By citing references of protest such as Jesus Christ, St. Paul, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, he justifies his current actions for the Negro community and states that he is willing to face the consequences when it comes to protesting for equal rights amongst all Americans. This was the first time that I have read Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham jail and I have to admit that it was a very moving and inspirational letter to the people of the Civil Rights Movement at the time. I think that this letter showed how he was always protesting through love and peace and never violence, even though he had been classified as an extremist by the white community. By showing this type of leadership he proved to be such a courageous and intelligent figure in the Negro community and his words of wisdom made such a huge impact on the history of the movement. I believe that without letters such as these to his fellow brothers, most protests would not have been “peaceful” and the entire pursuit of equality could have been in jeopardy.