There are many orators who with their speech and choice of words appeal emotionally to the audience, and one such orator was Martin Lurther King Jr. His emotional appeal was strong enough to provoke the thoughts of people and encourage them to act. Martin compares the Negro’s as a bad check that bounces back and keeps increasing the majority of the Negro’s in Unites States. He saw that black people were treated unfairly and had a dream that people of all color would work together (Nelson, 2002). Martin connects with the people by speaking about providing them citizenship rights similar to that provided to the whites. He pleads to people that the freedom and rights cannot be achieved by hatred and bitterness and they must refrain by performing any wrongful deeds.
He speaks about the Negro slaves who had been fighting for the rights since ages and emphasizes that “Negro is still not free”, which is sure to provoke a thought of freedom in the audience. The word choices to depict the indifference of the Negros are; languishing in the corners of American Society, exile in own land; life is crippled by manacles of segregation. Martin understands that Negros’ have had a biased life and all the audience who attended the speech had struggled in their lives for their rights. He knows that many Negros suffered police brutality, experienced sufferings and faced harsh realities of racism in their quest for freedom.
Martin refers Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana as his four children and hopes for a racial free state where people will not be judged on their color; but on their character. He talks about the hope that one day the children of the blacks and whites will walk hand in hand as brothers and sisters. He pauses for a moment when he confidently says “that all men are created as equal”. If America is to be a racially just nation, King’s vision must be normative for every political platform and public policy agenda throughout the nation (Echols, 2004).
References
Nelson, Robin (2002). Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, illustrated, Lerner Publications.
Echols, James, (2004). I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Future of Multicultural
America. Fortress Press.
