martin luther king jr speech

martin luther king jr speech

The Power of Martin Luther King Jr’s Speech

1. Introduction

When Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, the world held its breath. King had been the leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America from the mid-1950s until his death in the late ’60s. He had been a Baptist minister and had used the pulpit to spread his message of equality, often bringing his congregation to tears with his moving sermons. But King was more famous as a civil rights activist than a religious leader, and his powerful, moving speeches had a great influence on race relations in the United States, beginning with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and ending with the Poor People’s Campaign which he was working on when he was assassinated. When we examine the great orator’s, Martin Luther King Jr., speeches, it is important to understand that his power as a speaker as well as his great personal courage played a large role in the Civil Rights Movement. While it was King’s ability to articulate the hopes and aspirations of African Americans that won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the Pulaski Medal among other honors, it was the many acts of courage and self-sacrifice which gave credibility to his message. This is why he was so often the target of violence. In King’s day, the only media people considered to be reliable sources of information were newspapers and television. King also knew that many of the violent acts that were committed against him attracted much media attention, bringing the civil rights struggle to the forefront of the evening news. Because of these things, many people speculate about the extent to which the media may have conspired with local governments, such as the city of Birmingham, Alabama, to discredit King’s work. This holds a great deal of significance regarding King’s speech, “The Power of Non-Violence”.

2. The Historical Context

In 1870, when the American blacks were given the right to vote, they began to establish themselves as a truly social and political force. This period produced the first black man to be elected to the US Congress and, as well the establishment of black colleges designed to train black leaders. However, it was not until the mid-1950s that the black community saw a call to action and moved to beginning its long and difficult journey towards genuine social and political equality. King’s speech was a capsule and expression of its historical moment, to be used again and again as a symbol of the movement’s purpose. This is why the speech has retained its potency and relevance despite the passing of time. In order to understand the power that the speech holds, it is necessary to examine the nature of American society at the time, the mindset of the African-American community, and the way in which the speech addressed and led to its changing of their perceived position in American culture. The mid-20th century was a time of great change in America; the US had come out of a successful yet costly war in Europe and was now spending vast amounts of money to restore the devastation that the war had brought to many European cities. After withdrawing support in 1947, the war in Southeast Asia became a civil war between Vietnamese nationalists and a government supported by the USA. 1955 was also the year that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a leader among the black community, subsequently becoming the dominant force in the Civil Rights Movement. With the passing of the years, the key event attributed to the turning of the tide was a speech given by King outside the steps of the Lincoln Memorial enlightening the issue of civil rights. With these historical events in mind, it becomes easy to highlight the reasons why King made his speech when he did and its purpose.

3. Key Themes and Messages

King’s speech used repetition to hammer home his crucial point many times, starting with the second sentence: “Now is the time.” From the beginning, the best way to achieve a goal or an idea is to expect the best from others and from ourselves. We should be optimistic in not only our society and culture, but also in ourselves. The more positivity and faith in one’s goal will make it easier to accomplish.

This next point is King’s views on society and culture. Despite the overall message at the beginning of the speech, he stated that the society will not grant the rights that black people truly deserve and that it is a constant fight with many obstacles. When this happens, one has to differentiate what is just and unjust. When segregated, a black person would be served a meal in a dirty kitchen while a white man would be served in a nice and clean area. Instead of recognizing the disgusting act of segregation, the white man would simply say that the food was awful. Black people have been so brainwashed by the white society that they actually began to believe that they were not worth more than what the law was giving them. This, in turn, began a downward spiral of dignity and self-worth for black people. Imagine being a child and having to tell your child that they cannot go back to an amusement park or a swimming pool simply because they are the wrong color.

4. Impact and Legacy

King’s speech has become an iconic moment in the American civil rights movements and is one of the most widely known speeches in U.S. history. As a result, the speech was widely thought to have been drafted in a moment of inspiration. Ruth that had begun with his involvement in the boycott in 1955. A SNCC report stated that by 1963, 17% of the blacks in the south were now registered to vote, as compared to 7% in 1958. This increased appetite for gaining political power in the South eventually led to the establishment of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which was established as an alternative to the all-white Democratic party in Mississippi that had disenfranchised blacks. The goal of the MFDP was to gain recognition as the legitimate Democratic party in Mississippi and gain the seats of the Democrats in the state from their own party in an integrated manner. This was first partially achieved in 1969 when Henry J. Kirksey, who had been a member of the MFDP, became the first black man to win a state office in Mississippi since the end of the Reconstruction.

King’s speech was not greeted with instant enthusiasm and approval, as media coverage in the days following the event depicted. In the immediate aftermath of the march, most news reporting viewed the event as a nuisance at best. The final speech did not bring the applause that the organizers anticipated. Even in the days after the speech, the immediate impact was not overwhelming, as shown by a Gallup poll from September 1963 showing that almost two-thirds of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of the march. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech solidified his reputation as one of the greatest orators in the history of the American civil rights movements. It also set the tone for the movement’s emphasis on nonviolent protest.

5. Conclusion

In his seminal “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr. made one of the most powerful patriotic references to the American dream: “…we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'” King’s heart was in a better America and a better world, and he puts forward his vision of that place. His speech would have quite simply been a report on the lack of freedom and the segregation of the black people in America. He did, however, go further and spoke of the freedom “guaranteed by the Constitution and Declaration of Independence”. This simple but effective call to the very explicit documents of American freedom would plant a certain unease in the white Americans who would consider the African Americans’ question for equality. It is an unease that would serve King well in his quest to undo the chains of segregation and discrimination.

Sufficient has been said to show that students of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech must consider how the text is delivered, to whom, and why, as well as to what effect. They must consider the social context as their words will be heard today and in the future. The “I Have a Dream” speech continues to be a rallying cry for the Civil Rights Movement and is cherished as a cultural icon. Those students of the work need to monitor their own rhetoric in their analysis. King’s speech has been noted for its limited use of expressive devices, and this is often credited as being a reason why it is so emotionally charged.