Rousseau 1 Rousseau 2 One powerful voice has the ability to transform the challenges in society. On 28 August 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech “I Have a Dream”. This speech is to be deemed the most powerful and influential speech in history. On this day Dr. King stood before thousands of American citizens at the Lincoln Memorial park and spoke about freedom for African Americans. During this era, the civil rights movement was occurring and activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. himself influenced Americans to change justice, equality, and freedom for all African Americans by empowering the people through his words.
The protest was over African American voting rights, as few African Americans could vote due to racist whites manipulating the voting system. African Americans shied away from voting because of fear of being harassed or absurd tests were given, such as stating the entire U.S Constitution. Johnson’s purpose of his speech was to convince Congress and Americans everywhere to pass his bill on voting reformation. To help make the speech more effective and convincing, Johnson used rhetorical strategies, such as ethos, logos, and pathos. Johnson’s first part of the speech uses rhetorical qualities that unify the audience and make them sympathize with the victims of voting rights.
Knowing the background information of the speaker(s) and audience(s) will help us to understand how the speaker tailors a message in order to effectively reach their audience(s). One influential leader among African Americans was Booker T. Washington. In his autobiography, Up From Slavery, he describes his life as a slave; his education after freedom from slavery; and discusses people who helped him succeed in life. Mr. Washington was a race leader who saw himself “lifting as he rose.” As he succeeded, he wanted to help others succeed. The highlight of Mr. Washington’s autobiography was in his speech entitled “The Atlanta Exposition Address.” In this speech he was not only representing himself, but he represented the
Martin Luther King Jr’s writings, teachings and speech’s are timeless; they left people rethinking their attitudes towards African Americans and racism. He spoke of a compelling brotherhood and sisterhood of all American citizens, and how he one day wished that all brothers and sisters, white or black could unite as one and form a unity. Martin Luther King made it known to the nation and the world that civil rights and justice should be upheld for not only white citizens but black citizens too. He was one of the most influential people of the 20th century and since 1983 America has named a holiday after him, to look back and
“I Have a Dream” August 28, 1963 a powerful speech: “I Have A Dream” was delivered to over 200,000 people at the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C. by, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Not only a highly respected activist and heroic leader for civil rights, he was a well educated and phenomenal speaker. King captivated his audiences by using various strategies such as, metaphors, repetition, historical and spiritual allusions, and word choice. Some of these techniques will be explained here. Metaphorically, Kings speech consists of a system that effectively grabs the attention of African-Americans which are effected by and relate to a hindrance at hand. “So we have come to cash this check,”(540).
Colin Powell Colin Powel is one of the most significant African Americans of our time through his success, popularity, and leadership excellence. He has achieved greatness throughout his life in various military and governmental positions which also have lead him to who he is now. He deserves the recognition he has received since he has shown outstanding leadership qualities through countless world crises and four United States presidents. Colin Powell was born in New York City on April 5, 1937 and was raised in the South Bronx. His parents, Luther and Maud Powell, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica.
50 years ago a very prestigious civil rights activist stood before a segregated separate but equal group of thousands of American citizens. On August 28, 1963 the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a motivational speaker, and experienced preacher delivered what he stated would “go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” During this century segregation, discrimination and separation of color had become one of the main factors of this time period. Dr. King had become one of the most influential leaders of the civil rights movement. His prominent speech “I Have A Dream” was given to motivate the citizens of this nation to take action and rise above the turmoil, and the unequal treatment of African Americans.
For years he lived below the authority of the white. He put himself on the same level of his fellow people, and went through the motions. He was praised for it all, but he knew he was meant to stand out and stand for more. By conforming to the white man, he was able to stand out against the oppression and show everyone who he truly was, and what he truly possessed. He was granted an opportunity toward an education, and an opportunity to become a prominent black leader he had alluded to earlier in the story all because of his understanding of his role in his social setting.
He was the most courageous and dedicated leader during the civil rights struggle, and his leadership impacted millions. King spoke for African-American and helped to conquer discrimination based on race and skin color. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech will be remembered by Americans for many generations, and overall, he impacted the nation in more ways than words can describe. His courage to fight for what he believed in is one of the many reasons why the United States government created a national holiday in his honor. That there is an entire day dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. proves that he was the best leader in United States history (Ling,
Martin Luther King’s dream was to have equality. Martin wanted to allow African Americans to get a job so they can see and realize equality. The “I Have A Dream” speech was basically a plea for society based on racial harmony. This speech was held at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C on August 28th, 1963. Martin Luther King Gave this speech to so many people because, He wanted to motivate people so they could see how wrong it is to treat people wrong just because they are different.