I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King's famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered at the 28 August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 

1. The audience was the people participating in the March, most being African American and with the heated civil rights movement going on, it is clear that one of the main topics King discussed was the racism and hatred instilled in America at that time towards people of color mainly towards African Americans. Other issues he touched on which directly relates to the racism towards people of color include police brutality, the constitution and the declaration of independence, the overwhelming oppression in Mississippi and Tennessee, etc. He took advantage of the kairos of the situation by speaking on topics that are really sentimental for African Americans at that time. As I said, the time period is right in the midst of the civil rights movement. That plays an important role in the effectiveness of King's speech which was effective since it is known worldwide today as one of the greatest speeches. He pulls on the heartstrings of the audience, bringing in issues and imagery from the past and present, which sets off a spark in the hearts of the African American people as well as the white supporters present at the speech. He is delivering the speech to people whom support him, rather than giving the speech to Ku Klux Klan members or even just people who do not support him. The way he uses ethos is fairly simple. Since he is one of the leaders of the civil rights movement, he is a credible source. He was there at all of the marches and protests and he saw o the hatred being thrown at him for simply being African America. He also relies heavily on pathos to makes this speech effective. By using emotion and imagery with this topic, as I said, he really is able to hit a nerve with his audience. For example, he discusses when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and comments, "But one hundred years later, the negro still is not free, One hundred years later, the life of a negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination." He uses logos not as much as he uses ethos or pathos but it is still there. For example, he cites the Constitution and the Declaration of independence, both documents that are engraved in the morals of Americans, "This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights' of 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.'" He not only cites those texts but he ties it in to the issue at hand: equality for all. Although we still see the wounds and struggles of racism here in America, if it was not for people like Martin Luther King, Jr., we would not have made the amount of progress we have made over these past years. And I hope, we have much more progress in the years to come.