Preview

I Have A Dream Speech By Dr. Martin Luther King

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
777 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
I Have A Dream Speech By Dr. Martin Luther King
The speech I read is the ‘I have a dream’ speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The speech was delivered on August 23, 1968, in the American capital of Washington D. C. by a man many people acclaimed to be a great revolutionary. However, there was nothing revolutionary about this man, but he was only affirming and restating the promises of the country’s founding fathers which is denied to certain people and enjoyed by the white supremacist. Some argued that the speech calls for the emancipation of the black (Negro) race, but it is more than advocating for a particular group of people, rather, the speech anticipates and speculate freedom and justice for all, irrespective of color, race, gender, and social status when the author said “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” (B. …show more content…
First, the aspect where the author call for eradicating prejudice and discrimination in the society; reminding the country that the constitution guarantee every citizen “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (B. McKay, 2008, para. 4). Additionally, the speech admonished the Negro not to gain their rightful place by being guilty of any wrongdoing. In other words, they were not to engage in violent activities that have the propensity of jeopardizing the gains or the actualization of their struggle. Of course, it is common to get agitated with the practices of discrimination and segregation, but the author demonstrated that peaceful declaration of intention can bring a lasting solution to their struggle. Undoubtedly, the most significant aspect of the speech that probably will live in my memory forever is when the author elucidates that everyone is equal, so they should not “be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (B. McKay, 2008, para.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, ”I have a Dream”, he also reminds America of something, yet this time, he reminds them that the forefathers of America stated in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. He then proceeds to explain that this equality was not true in America at that time – the blacks were not free at all. Finally, he explains his dream of freedom for everyone to those gathered to hear the speech – a dream where everyone is, in fact, created equal.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about oppression and oppressed people. King states 3 ways on how people meet oppression. The first of which is acquiescence, which means that they reluctant acceptance of something without protest. The second physical violence and corroding hatred. King strongly states that violence never, and will never bring peace. The third is by nonviolent resistance, where the struggle to reconcile the truths between the black people and the white people.…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Baptist minister and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of civil rights supporters as a call to end racism in the United States as well as civil and economic rights for all races. In the introduction of the speech, he discussed the day that America’s forefathers signed the Emancipation Proclamation was a beacon of light for enslaved African Americans, as they would one day be free and seen as individuals rather than slaves. King states, “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.” Continuing, Dr. King believes that the origin of racial inequality lies solely with America and the refusal to view all races as equal, like the forefathers who wrote the Constitution and the Declaration of…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history there has been an ever present struggle for the equality and justice of all men, more specifically, the equivalence of African-Americans to the White Men and abolition of slavery. To help these movements, speeches, essays, and stories have been published making huge strides in the brawl for equal opportunity for African-Americans for hundreds of years. Among these writings, include pieces that have gone down in history as being extremely controversial, inspirational, and powerful such as the I Have a Dream speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Atlanta Compromise Speech by Booker T. Washington, and Fredrick Douglass’s Plymouth County, Mass Speech and his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. All the speeches have…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    After the March on Washington fifty-two years ago civil rights activist Dr. Martin King Jr. delivered for the first time his "I Have a Dream Speech" at the Lincoln Memorial. During the speech, Dr. King offered inspiration and called for an end to racism in America. In fact, he spoke on his personal hopes and dreams for people of all races in his country. One of his hopes was that one day people of color would be judged based off their character, rather than their skin color. As for his dream that he expressed in speech, it was that a day would come that colored people and whites could unite and see one another as equals.…

    • 1470 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the greatest speeches of all time. He achieves this status because the speech is brilliantly written and flawlessly presented. The speech’s clear purpose is to persuade the audience of the problem that is segregation and to call people to fight for civil rights. King’s language is simple and direct, yet very powerful and well-chosen. The speech itself appears to be easily understood. However simple, it very impactful. He uses analogies throughout the speech, these prove the speech to be more accessible to everyday people. He also treats his audience with a huge amount of respect, acknowledging their troubles, as well as, encouraging them to keep going. His use of the phrase “I have a…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Language is used by writers and speakers to motivate and encourage people to inform, persuade, and inspire our society. Authors use language to inspire people to create change and to impact the world. In the speech, “I have a dream speech,” by Dr. Martin Luther King, king inspires people to support black rights. In the article, “Mixed races in Longtown Ohio,” by the Associated Press, the author writes about a community in Ohio, where all people live in peace with other races.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Passage A of Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter to Birmingham is composed of specific stylistic strategies that effectively convey his central idea that the black community’s protests against segregation are justified as it has suffered from widespread societal restraint for centuries throughout history. King’s argument in this passage is facilitated by means of a syntactical structure composed of a long list of the abundant struggles that have faced blacks as well as an appeal to the legal and moral authority of just societal laws. Both of these stylistic elements serve to advance King’s main intention in writing this excerpt of the letter, which is to persuade the recipient to understand both the anguish that has resulted from centuries of black discrimination and that black people’s willingness to disobey “unjust” law is justified.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “ I have a Dream” speech to hundreds of people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C revealing the ideals of the current world and encouraging his audience to envision his dream of a new America where segregation and discrimination were abolished. To do this King intelligently chose words, phrases, references that appealed to his audiences commonalities such as religion, their common struggle, and their desire to make the nation great.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    On August 28, 1963 the march on Washington brought over 250,000 people marching for eliminating segregation in school and public places, and giving people equal job rights for African American people to find a peaceful way to stop racial discrimination. But the most remember able thing that happen was Martin Luther king jr speech “I have a dream” where he express that one day people of all different races, religion and characters can be free from discrimination, when it states “…when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, 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…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    However, even after slavery was eliminated, cultural segregation still remained and remains to this very day. As such, memories of ill treatment were still fresh in the mind of King as he wrote the speech, “the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination”. This strong acknowledgement of heritage within the African American people as whole is a testament to in inherent sense of belonging they feel as an individual people. But, therein lies the problem, they are still an individual people. They yearn to become part of the greater American community; however, they are limited in this regard due to the abhorrent treatment of their…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This speech mainly stated that he wanted everyone to be equal and get along. “Have a dreamt hat my four 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.”…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a man, a man who had a dream, and his name was Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was born on January 1, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. (biography.com) He graduated in the year of 1951. Martin Luther King got arrested in 1963, he was awarded a freedom award, in 1977. Sadly, he wasn’t there to collect his award, because he was assassinated in 1968. He was inspiring to many people. Martin Luther King’s quotes are another thing that inspired his people. “ Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, an American Baptist minister, fought for justice and freedom.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He also goes on about the importance of recognizing white people who want to protest for this same cause, allies like that are necessary to its success by saying, “ The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a 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. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone”. He then states some specific goals, saying we can not turn back.…

    • 2102 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The I Have A Dream Speech was created and read loudly to a massive group of civil rights protesters in front of the Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C. by Martin Luther King JR. He made this speech to fight for the rights of discrimination of the African Americans who were treated as lesser humans, consequently, his dream was for the American people to come together and realize that everyone is equal. When he reads “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” he's saying that one day he hopes that whites and blacks see each other as people and not white and black. In his speech he clearly tells you right off the bat what…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays