Every great dream begins with a dreamer: Many African Americans have their own dreams and every single one of them has dreamt of freedom and equal rights. One of the many African American dreamers is Martin Luther King Jr., who gave the speech “I Have a Dream” in 1963. His speech talks about the injustice of segregation and discrimination of African Americans. He uses his opinion, feelings and emotions to connect to the audience. In the beginning of his thoughtful speech he states, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” In this statement he explains that he is here to fight for freedom itself. This speech demonstrates the ideal of freedom that our nation was built upon. Dr. King uses the right to freedom to emphasize the importance of African Americans in society.
Not only did Dr. King state the importance of African Americans in society, but he also provoked a change in African Americans by inspiring them, and showing them their potential. Dr. King inspired the whole population to take action by using well thought-out methods in his speech, such as ethos, pathos and logos. Dr. King used his rhetoric to prove that racism and segregation don’t have to be a part of America. In Dr. King’s speech, he makes reference to Abraham Lincoln when he states, “Four score and seven years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the emancipation proclamation. This momentous decree came as great beacon light of hope to millions of negro slaves who had seen seared in the flames of withering injustice.” Dr. King uses Abraham Lincoln as a way to build credibility because Abraham Lincoln was the gateway to freedom for African Americans. Not only was Abraham Lincoln the gateway for freedom, but he also gained America’s trust by leading it through the civil war. Dr. King brings Abraham Lincoln into his speech to provide some authority to his point of view on civil rights. This provides a strong ethos appeal and establishes credibility with his audience. Not only does Dr. King use Abraham Lincoln to provide credibility, but he also uses the Declaration of Independence. Dr. King uses the Declaration of Independence very cleverly because he uses it to invoke authority to his cause. He recites, “unalienable Rights” of “life, Liberty, and pursuit of happiness”.
He recites these words to show that the Declaration of Independence is on his side. He implies that the American government had failed on its obligation to all American citizens. Martin Luther King Jr. sets up his credibility by bringing up the constitution and using the authority of a “great American.” Even though Martin Luther King Jr. uses incredible facts to get his point across, Martin Luther King Jr. also attempts to use a rhetorical appeal towards emotion to get the audience more connected to his speech. His use of emotion is incredible especially since he uses specific topics that are emotional to both white and black people. One of the emotional appeals that Dr. King uses is when he says, “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” He uses the bible to leverage faith in God to inspire all to come together and become one. Not only does he use the bible, but he also makes parents feel an emotional appeal when he said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.” He uses this because he wants the people to relate to him as a father and keep on fighting for the children so when “tomorrow” comes the children will not have to keep facing injustice and racism.
Not only does he use his children to appeal to the audience emotionally, but he also uses the American dream when he says, “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” He uses the American dream to appeal to his audience and show them that he too, as an American, is equally deserving of the promises of that dream. He uses this part of his speech to state that any American has right to the American dream. Dr. King used appeals to emotions in many of his writing such as his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which he said “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, “wait.” But when you have seen vicious mobs lunch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sister…”
This makes the audience have an emotional appeal because everyone has mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters. He uses the same technic to provoke an emotional attachment and inspired the people to fight. He uses the things that people care the most to inspire them, making them want to cause a change in the way that African American people are being treated.
