Martin Luther King Jr.

I Have a Dream

Hannah Grippo Pd CDMr. Scooley

Biography

Martin Luther King Jr.

• Born January 15th 1929•Assassinated April 4th 1968• Born in Atlanta, Georgia • He was a Baptist minister and a civil-rights activist• He had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States• Married and moved to Montgomery, Alabama • Had four children• He was a member of the executive committee of the National Association of Colored People•

Accomplishments

• He had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States• King headed the SCLC• Received a Noble Peace Prize in 1964• Created the Civil Rights Act in 1964• Created the Voting Rights Act in 1965• Became the 20th pastor of his church

Historical Perspective of Speech

• On August 28, 1963 King gave his speech, during the March on Washington. • The purpose of King’s speech was to give African Americans the freedom and

quality they deserve and also, put an end to discrimination• This was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement.• The March on Washington was aimed at obtaining: (1) meaningful civil rights

legislation; (2) a federal works program; (3) the right to vote; (4) integrated education; (5) better housing; and (6) better employment opportunities.

• King's "I Have A Dream" speech marked one of the most memorable moments of the March on Washington.

• He spoke of his desire for a future that would overcome the injustices that were being done in this great country of ours and spoke of the importance of togetherness for all mankind.

Impact

• His “I Have a Dream” speech had such an impact which ultimately led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

• He appealed to our human conscious and spoke those powerful words that would still today make a strong impact on what we can do together, only if we stand together as mankind.

• One of the many who were impressed was President Kennedy, who remarked while viewing coverage of the march in the White House, “That guy is really good” (Garrow, p. 677).

• Public reaction to the speech was largely favorable. The next day's edition of the New York Times was generous in its praise, with a front-page headline reading, “Peroration by Dr. King Sums Up a Day the Capital Will Remember.” The Motown Company released an unauthorized recording of King's speech that sold briskly in African American record stores.

Theme

“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 by the content of their character.”

Key Points

"In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check."

In other words, the black community is owed liberation. Lincoln's Emancipation Declaration promised freedom for slaves, but "the Negro is still not free" and further liberation and rights are necessary.

Key Points

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream."

King stresses the importance of hope. This is the most famous andmoving part of the speech. King recognises that many of his audience have suffered persecution and violence, but that they must have hope and faith that the "promised land" of complete integration will happen "one day".

Key Points

"If America is to be a great nation this must become true."

King stresses that this is not just a problem for the black community,but for all Americans. King uses the words of "My country, 'tis ofthee" to stress the national, even patriotic importance of thestruggle, repeating the line "Let freedom ring" to link the civilrights struggle with the ideals of the founding fathers.

Key Points

“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 by the content of their character.”

In this key point King explains how he believes one day his own children will not be judged anymore by their skin but by their character. His kids will no longer be discriminatedagainst and treated equally

Key Points

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.“”

In this key point King is trying to say one day everyone will be equal. We were all made equal and we need to live up to it.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men

are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at

the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be

transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

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 by the content of their

character.

I have a dream today!

“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 by the content of their character.”

Bonus Parallelism: “..one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.”

“….Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. 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 lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.”

“….We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”

“….I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

Bonus

Metaphor: “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood”

Antithesis: “The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom”

Allusion: “Five score years ago, a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation”

Logical Appeal: "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity“

Emotional Appeal: "But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition"