In the 1900’s, the struggle for African Americans to gain social equality in the United States, intensified during the life changing Civil Rights Movement (1954 – 1968). This progressive social movement would eventually end segregation, in the public environment and the workforce, granting equality to the oppressed citizens of color. Martin Luther King Jr. is a well known civil rights leader and activist, who inspires and emphasizes equality for all in American societies. To emphasize his beliefs and assertions, King composed world renowned speeches which inspired the people of the United States of America to fight for equality. In the years following the Civil Rights Movement, King continued to galvanize American communities, with his persuasive, motivational speeches throughout his quest for freedom.. King’s main objective consisted of raising the public consciousness of racism, in order to end racial discrimination and segregation in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. sternly believed that everyone deserves social equality, an ideology manifested by his life experiences. Devoting his life to advocate this message after personally growing up in a segregated community. King’s monumental legacy consisting of his scholarly works and empowering speeches are reflected in modern day society through the flourishing relief of segregation and the burgeon of equality among the distressed people of color.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in a heavily racist community in Atlanta Georgia, in 1929, unaware that he would he eventually be one of America’s role model for social justice and equality. Growing up in his community, King was exceedingly more fortunate than other black families because he obtained well-rounded education. His family consisted of his two siblings and his two parents, his parents always wanted the best life for their kids. The mother was able to teach all three kids how to play the piano, they all were extremely bright and intelligent. King’s dad was a reverrend, evidently leading to the whole family being heavily involved into church. The King family stood out a little bit more compared to the other families in the communal society, they managed to be a financially secure middle class family, living in a poor community. His education was always in pristine condition, always excelled in school, almost like second nature to him. Continuing his exceptional academics all through his adolescent years, he managed to skip several grades, and eventually went to college which during this time period was very rare and difficult thing to do. He had a few encounterments during his childhood years which were inevtiable, experiencing his first confrontations of racism: “ He went to a friend’s house, knocked on the door, and asked for his friend. But his friend’s mother told him that he was too old to play with her boys. Naturally, Martin rushed home and explained to his mother what had just happened. She comforted him and told him that “many people don’t consider African Americans as good as white people.’ ( Bright Hub 1). As one would be after these prejudice actions grew, King would become more and more infuriated with it. He wanted to change the world, and create an equal humane society where everyone is accepted no matter what race they are. With these continuous racial discriminations would presumably evolve into the philanthropic Martin Luther King Jr. that society knows today, credited to his life influences.
All throughout his life, he lived through situations that morphed his opinion, and his characteristics to promote his philanthropic ideology. A major contributor towards King’s ideas and goals for his community, branched from his dad. His Dad, Martin Luther King Sr. acting as the revverend in his community. His purpose as a minister of a Baptist Church was to provide a moral and religious education for the children of the community. The entire King family obtained charitable attributes that lead to specifically Martin Luther King Jr. wanting to better society and declare equality for all. King Sr. compiles a compassionate, courageous, brave attitude that was reflected down to his kids. King Jr. look up to his father as a role model, his disgusting run ins with discriminating people lead to the him fighting for what he believes in which is equality throughout society, “ One day, King and his father went to the store to buy a pair of shoes. The clerk told them that the blacks had to go to the back of the store. When Martin Sr. was told this he calmly left the store. King Jr. was confused why they had left and his parents told him that this was not respectful treatment and they didn’t need to stand for it” ( King 125). Situations like these which were encountered with his father raised a lot of confusion towards life and why families like his were being treated differently. Eventually when King realized that the reason for began treated differently was due to the color of their skin, King was infuriated and would not stand for it. Leading to the rest of his life as a social activist, for all human rights. He evidently a social justice symbol representing equality for all people, due to the acrimonious life events that occurred to him in his adolescent years.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man whom provided great sense relief to his community, he took action and guided his community through the tough times. His way with words allowed him to connect with his audience, but to him it was not just an audience he was speaking too. He was speaking to his loved ones, his friends, his family, his community. King stood up for what he believed and protected the people who he cared about. He did this through his evocative rhetoric, his persuading, passionate and leading words throughout his speeches.
During his career King, endured a numerous amount of speeches. His was known for his unbelievable speeches, such as “I Have A Dream”, and “Our God is Marching On”. During these speeches his points were relatively towards the saem topics. Mainly on civil rights, and achieving to stand up for what you believe in through non-violent acts of protests. One of King’s most famous and memorable speeches is the “I Have A Dream” Speech. He debuted this special speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Throughout this entire career, he had many goals to achieve to make hso nation a better place. One of his hopes, was to achieve racial justice for African- Americans. He wants this to be achieved throughout unity, of the community. The rhetorical devices he strategically uses throughout this memorable speech includes, pathos, ethos, logos, repetition, anaphora, second person possessive. His main points throughout his speech were to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to all under the Constitution. His powerful words, including, “I have a dream that my four little chi1dre!Il 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. l I have a dream … 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 there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will he able to join hands with little white boy’s and white girls as sisters and brothers” (King 4). Anaphorically using repeating the phrase “I have a dream” reffers to his hopes and wants for his country, as a dream, a figure of imagination. This allows for the audience to endure an epiphany, realizing that this simple hope and want of racial justice, to be so far away from real life, allowing for the realization that the societal and governing problems are much bigger than perceived.
Throughout this speech he uses many rhetorical strategies, including second person possessive. Fighting against the excuses the government and society always uses, to refuse racial justice. These excuses include not having enough money to make society better and equal for all, “But we refuse.e to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity orf this nation. So we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give ns upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. King realizes that there a many problems to be dealt with, and he does not want to relinquish all of these problems to the African- American Society. He uses second person possessive “we” to develop a degree of trust from his audience building a “brotherhood” . This quote appeals to logos because he refers to the African American population not to give up their fight for civil equality.
Another one of King’s infamous speeches was the “Our God is Marching On”, this was amidst the Selma March, the Civil Rights act was finally apart of history, however people in the south were not as welcoming to the idea compared to others. Numerous of attack ocurrred during this time, assassination of Malcolm X, state troopers, and officers being attacked by tear gas. But when King agreed to abide by a federal restraining order, the 2,000-plus marchers made the march purely symbolic, once again halting at the bridge. On March 21, King and thousands more took to the road again. For four days and 54 miles, they braved pouring rain, roadside naps and trying hills, finally arriving in Montgomery, a place often called “The Cradle of the Confederacy.” When ending his monumental walk for justice, he presented his exceptional speech, dictating, “They told us we wouldn’t get here. And there were those who said that we would get here only over their dead bodies, but all the world today knows that we are here and we are standing before the forces of power in the state of Alabama saying, “We ain’t gon’ let nobody turn us around.” (King 3). This empowering quote utilizes “we” again as a unifying character with all of the African Americans who feel miserable living in such a racists time. King constitutes the importance of never giving up hope, never letting whoever say things doubting each other. It is empowering everyone and educating everyone saying that they are a force to be reckoned with, and will not be pushed around. King has developed the start to racial justice, not the end but just the beginning.
King influences has impacted, everyone after his time. Him gaining more freedom and equality for the African – Americans. As well as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama took in an emmence amount of respect towards Martin Luther King Jr… Obama used King. Jr as a role model for himself while in office. Obama directly references King in one of his speeches, “I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King said in this same ceremony years ago – “Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones.” As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life’s work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there is nothing weak — nothing passive,nothing naïve — in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King” (Obama 2). Obama realizes that times are different from when he is acting as chief commander compared to King’s anti-violence times. However, Obama does take into extreme belief and consideration that violence should not be the number one response of action. It is understood that society, government etc. who have problems should be achieved not using violence.
