In 1964, Martin Luther King was told over the phone that he had won a Nobel Peace Prize for his great leadership of the Civil Rights movement (Martin Luther King). Martin Luther King delivered the “I Have A Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. Over 200,000 people were present for the March on Washington protest at the Lincoln Memorial. Just before King gave his speech, “gospel singer Mahalia Jackson called out to King, ‘Tell ’em about the dream, Martin’” (Polk and Stewart). This caused King to incorporate the famous “I Have a Dream” anaphora. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech uses ethical, logical, and emotional appeals to achieve portraying his message of the importance of supporting the Civil Rights movement due to the inequality of African Americans.
King uses ethos to strengthen his speech with credibility, such as addressing the Emancipation Proclamation. King goes on to state “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir,” referencing the Founding Fathers of America and two of the most important documents of American history. King uses these sources to support his claim that African Americans should be treated just as equal as Caucasians. This is important because a sense of familiarity and credibility can cause people to turn a turned head or to at least listen to what King has to say.
Continuing to use ethos, King exclaims “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice… Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children” (King). In the quote, King is referring to the people of the Black community who are being treated unfairly, solely based on their race. With the quote, King purposefully reveals what is considered to be morally correct, using an ethical appeal. An ethical appeal helps to further persuade the audience to join Kings cause, due to the natural instinct of knowing what is right from what is wrong and wanting to do the right thing.
By using logos, King creates an argument of how poorly African Americans were being treated due to discrimination of their skin color. King exclaims “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” King then continues by telling only a small portion of some of the horrible injustices that many African Americans faced and how there will not be satisfaction until these injustices are of no more. By telling the stories of these injustices, King is stating factual evidence of how African Americans were unfairly treated. This strengthens his speech because he is stating facts, which helps to create a credibility of his speech.
King continues using logos by stating “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt” (King). By using an analogy about money, King uses a logical appeal to further persuade his audience. King reasons that the audience has an understanding of what it is like to be given a bad check, and compares that to how Black people are being treated. Using a logical appeal that the audience can relate to helps King continue to persuade people.
By using pathos, King creates a sense of empowerment and determination in the audience. “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges,” said King. The diction that King chose to use made the crowd feel empowered by reassuring them that the fight for equality will continue until justice is brought. With the empowerment, the audience also feels a sense of determination to continue to keep on fighting for equal rights for all. By sparking emotions of empowerment and determination, King strengthens his speech. The stronger the speech of King, the more he is able to spread his message of equality.
Using a strong emotional appeal, King goes on to state “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” (King). By using an appeal to emotions, King gets the parents of the audience to think about the future of their children’s lives. How would that make your parent feel? By making the audience think about their personal life, King strengthens the effect of his speech. This is important because King is trying to persuade people to support the Civil Rights movement.
King’s “I Have A Dream” Speech is famously known, not only for the impact it had on America, but also the extensive amounts of figurative language it contains. Throughout the speech, King states “I have a dream” (King). By repeating this quote multiple times, King uses the rhetorical device, known as anaphora. By using anaphora, King appeals emotionally to the audience in order to persuade them.
In the context of the speech King uses an extended metaphor to compare freedom and light. King states “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of the injustice,” referring to the effect of the Emancipation Proclamation. King compares slaves finally being free to a “great beacon of light” (King). King goes on to state “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice” (King). Once again, King is comparing freedom to a light, this time being “ a sunlit path” (King). By comparing freedom to light, using a metaphor, King strengthens the influence of his speech by giving people hope that equality will bring “light” to American society.
Since 1963, there has been some progress regarding racism and civil rights. During the 1960’s, “black Americans continued to be marginalized through enforced segregated and diminished access to facilities, housing, education—and opportunities” (Segregation in the). Now, in 2019, access to public places, such as schools and restaurants, is not based off of the color of your skin. In the 1900’s, African Americans were not allowed to vote, but now any U.S. citizen is allowed to vote. Although there have been some improvement of racism, there is still lots of room to improve.
Martin Luther King had a great impact on the history of America. King was very passionate about equality of rights for everybody. King influenced the base of how protests should be enacted with peace and non violence, which is something Americans still use to this day. King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech should be listened to or read by all to see the impact King has had on today’s society.
Works Cited
- King, Martin Luther. “‘I Have a Dream,’ Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” Birmingham Campaign | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 28 Aug. 1963, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/i-have-dream-address-delivered-march-washington-jobs-and-freedom. Accessed 13 February 2019.
- “Martin Luther King Jr.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 14 Feb. 2019, www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086. Accessed 12 February 2019.
- Polk, Jim, and Alicia Stewart. “9 Things about MLK’s Speech and the March on Washington.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Jan. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/us/mlk-i-have-a-dream-speech/index.html. Accessed 14 February 2019.
