The Great Speech of Martin Luther King Junior “I Have a Dream.”

Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and a Baptist minister. He was named Michael King Jr. in 1929 after birth. He was the middle child in his family to his father, Michael King. His father was a minister in the rural areas for many years before moving to Atlanta. Kinggrew up to lead the movement for civil rights in his country (United States of America) from the 1950s to 1968 when his assassination took place. As he was both a Baptist minister and an activist on issues of civil rights, his impact was felt in the United States race relations. King headed the SCLC among his numerous efforts. He played a pivotal role in African American citizens to end the legal segregation in the south of the nation as well as other parts. He also played a significant role in the creation of the civil rights act of 1964 and the rights to vote law in 1965. In 1964, a Nobel peace prize was awarded to King among other honors. In April 1968, King was assassinated and is remembered as the most lauded African-American leader in the history of United States.

Martin Luther King made his famous speech; I have a dream, in the shadows of Lincoln Memorial. There were more than 200,000 participants who attended the rally, and nearly 50,000 people were white. The clergy of every faith, students, white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, and celebrities were present. This historic march of Washington held on August 28, 1963. The reason for King’s speech was to address the issues of jobs and freedom for African-Americans. The rally took place in the nation’s capital Washington D.C. In American history Martin, Luther King’s speech remains one of the most famous among the many.

At the period of King’s speech, there was a rising movement for civil rights that agitated the society giving a strong effect on the opinion of the public. The racial tension had begun to ask the laws of nation’s Jim Crow and the treatment of the African-American country’s citizens. There was a need for racial equality and advancement of the people of color at that time. Keeping with the theme of jobs and freedom for all races, the implementation of strong civil rights legislation was a vital requirement in the United States (Weir, 454). At this time, there were high levels of unemployment of the black citizens. The jobs given to African American citizens were offering minimal wages and reduced job mobility. The organizers of the rally called for raising the minimum wage of African-American to 2 dollars per hour. It would end discrimination in the place of work as well as the project for the public works of the federal to hire the unemployed (Weir, 454). The US Supreme Court was urged to rule the public schools desecration Act. Many of the African Americans were experiencing systematic disenfranchisement and racial segregation in the south.

King’s speech resulted in passage of the act of civil rights of 1964. It also pressured the voting rights act of 1965. It gave the federal government the authority in enforcing the desegregation of accommodations to the public, as well as outlawing discrimination in facilities owned by the public. The rise of the counterculture and the civil rights had given a strain on the unionism of cold war that was within the AFL-CIO. King and Reuther fought tirelessly throughout their lives for the agendas that comprised the civil rights and labor rights (Weir, 455). The emphasis of the civil and labor rights, as well as the remembrance of King’s I have a dream speech.

After a month of an ugly confrontation of the white police and black protesters for civil rights in Birmingham, King’s speech was delivered to the people. The nationwide outrage was sparking the brutality seen as the central moment in favoring people of color’s civil rights to the opinion of the whites. During the speech, the images of brutality from white police to the people of color lingered in their memories (McDannell, 317). Many white Americans viewed the civil rights movement as evidence promoting freedom by the American ideas at the time of potential revolutionary ideas and violence may be started. Many African-Americans, but not all, learned the speech of King at heart. The violence free, direct action tactics embraced by King and Christian leaders of the south conference emphasizing on the interracial peace received with cynicism on some African-American parts. The nation of Islam remained critical of the tactics of the message of King’s speech. They had the perspective on the fear of having the potential violence retribution inspiring the whites to allow the blacks enjoy their civil rights and live in peace (McDannell, 320).  

Noble ideas of a group can be evoked by a leader. The people can get transcended self-interest through the leader helping them to see what they have lost. What Martin Luther King told his audience, gave the speech its power of inspiration. Martin Luther called for recognition of sharing noble ideas in the society that lurked undimmed under the oppressive layers of self-interest (Williams, 70). The “dream” was not Luther King’s self-dream, but it widely held as one of a cross-section of Americans. He referred to it is a dream that is inside the American dream. The dream was that one day the nation would rise, and its real meaning to its creed lived. People were inspired by King’s speech as he used it to evoke the already existing values in the society but was latent. The statement was not meant to make people his followers but was calling for attention to the existing contradicted values in the society so to evoke moral action. The intentions of King were very powerful in evoking the way poetry is hugely expressive. The speech generated a picture, created an image, and explored a possible reality that drew the Americans into it. The imaginations and the latent ideas of the people were touched through the speech. It told people that things would be better than they currently were. The speech of King had an attitude that Enron was brought down, but there was an inspirational essence in each.

The use of repetition is evident in Martin Luther King’s speech. The repetition helped emphasize or tie several ideas together for his audiences to remember and understand the connections he made. It helped him to reinforce his point and make it memorable (Morreale, Spitzberg and Barge, 318). Repeating key theme words throughout the body of his speech. The frequency of words in King’s speech has a very unusual pattern. Freedom is the most common term used to emphasize the central theme of the speech. There are allusions used by King in his speech. One that was particularly poignant was that the delivery of the speech was taking place at the Lincoln Memorial.

The speech has also referred to the declaration of the United States’ independence. There are numerous biblical allusions that base the arguments of King on behavior. The speech has used specific examples to ground the King’s arguments. He provided numerous geographical references throughout the speech.There were four occasions that Mississippi was mentioned. The reference made his audiences evoke some of the strongest images and emotions. He also made his message more inclusive by using relatively generic geographical references like the slums and ghettos of the cities in the north. The use of metaphors in the speech was employed to highlight contrasting concepts. King’s speech evokes metaphors that are contrasting the dark and desolate valley of the racial justice. The metaphors of King in the speech were largely congruent with redemption, purification, and guilt. The metaphor moves from the black bondage image, the guilt of the white and obligations of the country to fulfill its promises. The metaphor’s movement from negative to positive forms of the struggle of purificatory images gives a hope to the society. Lastly, the metaphor signified an elevated plane that meant the images of dreams and mountainous features are used to convey a message of vision transcendently (Bobbitt, 83). A vivid picture paints the plight of the African-Americans. He shows his faith to be able to overcome the mountain of despair to hope.  

There were unfamiliar terms in the speech that needed definition. In the introduction to the speech, there was a combination of concrete conditions that the stage set and the abstract word free. The use of the unfamiliar words clouds the meaning of the speech in some essence. The use of slang in the speech may not have given the meant message to the listeners. The speech has elaborate language that impresses the audience. There are points that are clear in the speech that employ the use of vivid language. There was also the use of competent language that the speech demonstrated. It enhances the understanding of the listeners and their enthusiasm. The speech employed clarity that enabled the listeners to understand comprehends the meaning of the message easily. 

The antithesis in parts of sentences placed against another to that which opposes to forming a contrast of ideas that are balanced. Juxtaposing can illustrate antithesis of two arguments that oppose each other. The distinction of Oppositional ideology can also represent the antithesis. For example in King’s speech, there is a sentence that describes the inequality, despite the proclamation of emancipation that was prevailing at that time. A combination of poverty and prosperity is a significant antithesis in the speech. The island and the ocean are contrasting rather than opposites. There is the antithesis of despair as hope as well as for the discord as harmony. The antithesis in the sentence enhances the rising to the speech’s climax. The antithesis used in two sentences in the speech signifies the landscape and music imagery.

In conclusion, the life of King had become a public figure in the mythology of the citizens of America. He fought for the rights of many African American and to other many minorities as well as the white who accepted the impact his leadership brought. His life was mythological as he lived it. His famous speech was aaddressing the issue concerning unemployment for the black people in the United States. It had a positive impact and a milestone to achieving the civil rights of the African American population. King embraced a peaceful demonstration to show how he was a non-violent leader. Through King’s speech, the African American communities were granted their civil rights in 1964 as well as the rights to vote the following year after. It led to King focusing on the problems of the blacks’ economy in 1966. His assassination in 1968 left the country in a chaotic situation in many cities of United States were rioting. People would remember King for his high spirit and optimism as well as his “I have a dream” speech. He is als celebrated as a hero for his efforts to enable concrete legislation and also his dreams and hopes he had as many people share in times of change and upheaval.

Works Cited

Bobbitt, David A. The Rhetoric of Redemption. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004. Print.

Morreale, Sherwyn P, Brian H Spitzberg, and J. Kevin Barge. Human Communication. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2001. Print.

Williams, Dean. Real Leadership. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005. Print.

McDannell, Colleen. Religions of the United States In Practice. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001. Print.

Weir, Robert E. Workers In America. Print.

Vail, Mark. ‘The &Quot; Integrative&Quot; Rhetoric Of Martin Luther King Jr.’S &Quot; I Have A Dream&Quot; Speech’. Rhetoric & Public Affairs 9.1 (2006): 51-78. Web.