I Have a Dream Speech, Martin Luther King Essay Example

I Have a Dream Speech, Martin Luther King Essay The historical narrative document â€Å"I have a Dream† is a political speech which was delivered by Martin Luther King on the 28th of August 1963 in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The speech was aimed at the 250,000 Civil Rights supporters, both black and white, who had gathered for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a key moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. One imagines that Martin Luther King hoped that his words would not only be heard that day in Washington, but that they would be carried across the rest of America too. Martin Luther King was born on the 15th of January, 1929. When he finished his studies in Sociology he went on to read Divinity Studies at Crozer Theological Seminary. He became a Baptist pastor in 1954 and from then on started to campaign for civil rights issues. In 1955 he was elected President of the Montgomery Improvement Association which staged a year long boycott by African Americans of Montgomery buses over segregation and inferior treatment of blacks. When the boycott ended on the 21st of December 1956, Martin Luther King and the M. I. A. had achieved desegregation of Montgomery buses; the leader had gained great prominence and became primarily a civil rights activist. He was a man with great promise and was viewed as an inspiration and leader by African Americans. In January 1957 the leaders of the Montgomery Bus Boycott founded the Southern Christian Leadersip Conference (SCLC), made up of churches and clergy from across the South. Martin Luther King was elected President as he had played a fundamental role in the Conference’s creation. As the bus boycott had achieved such success the SCLC’s objective was to organise non-violent protests to gain equality for blacks. The SCLC’s Birmingham campaign preceded the March on Washington, and King’s inspirational â€Å"I have a Dream† speech. Between 1957 and 1962 17 black churches and private homes were bombed in Birmingham. In 1963 the SCLC took on Birmingham as a major campaign, setting up headquarters and organising peaceful protests, demonstrations and sit-ins. On Good Friday, the 12th of April, Martin Luther King personally led an officially banned demonstration march; all the protestors were immediately arrested. When King’s wife had no news from her husband, she contacted the White House and President Kennedy became personally involved. King was kept in jail for 8 days, although he received preferential treatment due to the President. We will write a custom essay sample on I Have a Dream Speech, Martin Luther King specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on I Have a Dream Speech, Martin Luther King specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on I Have a Dream Speech, Martin Luther King specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer His involvement in Birmingham gave the campaign even more prominence, taking it nationwide and it led to Kennedy bringing in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Police actions and their treatment of the protestors sparked national outrage. The Birmingham campaign led to other protests across the country, culminating in the March on Washington. The rally was the group effort of several different civil rights organisations, all with different approaches and outlooks. The organisers were A. Phillip Randolph, Martin Luther King, James Farmer of CORE, Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, John Lewis of SNCC and Dorothy Height of the National Council of Negro Women. They were known as the â€Å"Big Six†. The objective of the March was to have important civil rights legislation passed on the following issues: racial desegregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a public-works programme to provide employment; the prohibition of racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a minimum wage (2$ an hour); and the self-government of the District of Colombia, an area with a black majority. The Kennedy administration originally opposed the demonstration fearing riots would take place which would jeopardise the newly introduced Civil Rights legislation. When they realised the demonstration would go ahead anyway the White House became actively involved in the organisation, re-drafting speeches and inviting white organisations to attend in the hope that this would prevent any violence. The organisers estimated around 100,000 protestors would attend the March but on the day approximately 250,000 people turned out, around a quarter of whom were white. The major police presence was unnecessary in the end as it turned out to be a peaceful, non-violent protest. Even speakers included all of the â€Å"Big Six† civil rights leaders and Catholic, Protestant and Jewish religious leaders. The only female speaker was Josephine Baker. The most important and acclaimed speakers were John Lewis and Martin Luther King. â€Å"I have a dream† has gone down in history as one of the most important speeches in American oratory. King’s speech was dramatic, well-delivered and impassioned; millions of Americans watched the developments on television which helped the ideas and hopes of the Civil Rights Movement reach the whole country. The speech, an excellent example of rhetoric, was not delivered for the first time at the March on Washington. Other drafts or versions were given at various meetings and rallies, although the â€Å"I have a Dream† version was unique, delivered exclusively at the March. King actually deviated from his written speech towards the end, possibly prompted by the cries of Mahalia Jackson (a well known Gospel singer) of â€Å"Tell them about the dream, Martin†, thus prompting King in his anaphora of â€Å"I have a dream†, used 8 times in his discourse. Other examples of anaphora in the speech include â€Å"Now is the time† and â€Å"One hundred years later†. The language used is powerful, evocative and passionate; the message is strengthened with metaphors and imagery. Some example are â€Å"dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice†, â€Å"whirlwinds of revolt†, â€Å"whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification†, â€Å"jangling discords†. Martin Luther King’s background as a Baptist preacher was an important influence on his speech; indeed one feels like a member of his congregation listening to him giving an impassioned speech from the pulpit. There are many religious and Biblical references throughout the discourse; the first comes in the opening paragraph with â€Å"It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity†, an allusion to Psalm 30:5. Further on King alludes to Amos 5:24 when he says â€Å"until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream†, and to Isaiah 40:40-5 with â€Å"every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain (†¦)†. There are also numerous allusions to â€Å"God†, â€Å"Lord†, â€Å"faith† and â€Å"God’s children†. I have a Dream† begins â€Å"Five score years ago†, an allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Martin Luther King spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a location which was surely well-calculated given his opening line. The beginning of the speech is an impassioned criticism of racial inequal ity. King refers to the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order issued by President Lincoln on the 1st of January 1863 during the American Civil War. It declared the emancipation of just over 3 million of the country’s 4 million African-American slaves who had belonged to white Americans. 0,000 of them were freed immediately, and nearly all were emancipated by July 1865. The first decade after the war, known as Reconstruction, was a positive period for the newly-freed slaves. Various Civil Rights Acts were passed, blacks gained independence and some economic stability. However, things changed in the 1870’s when Reconstruction ended and times became difficult for blacks. Unfavourable laws were passed, including voting qualifications, and in 1896 the Supreme Court declared legal â€Å"separate but equal† services and facilities for African-Americans which meant segregation, putting them at a great disadvantage. King also refers to two other historical American documents: the United States Constitution, with its abolition of slavery and prohibition of voting qualifications based on colour, race or previous status as a slave; and the Declaration of Independence which proclaimed â€Å"all men are created equal†. He argues that all 3 of the afore-mentioned documents failed completely where African Americans were concerned. However, he declares that he is hopeful that the situation will be remedied, calling for racial justice and equality for â€Å"all of God’s children†. Martin Luther King was a great believer in peaceful demonstrations. He did not approve of violence and encouraged his followers to fight for racial equality with peaceful methods: â€Å"In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds†. He urges them to ‘turn the other cheek’, even if they are wronged, and to show exemplary and dignified behaviour â€Å"on the high plane of dignity and discipline†. He also reminded them not to mistrust all white people, as many of them supported racial equality, which could be seen at the March itself as around a quarter of the emonstrators were white. King mentions the police brutality and racial violence suffered by many African-Americans and alludes to the fact that some of the demonstrators had just been released from jail, having been locked up for their participation in civil rights acts. As previously mentioned, King himself was arrested and jailed on several occasions for his part icipation in sit-ins and protests. The last part of the speech introduces the famous â€Å"I have a dream† anaphora, and is where King began to improvise. For many this is the most emotive part of the whole speech. It is an impassioned plea for freedom; for his children and all black people to be judged on their character and not on their colour or race; and for blacks and whites to become brothers. He refers to â€Å"My Country t’is of Thee†, a patriotic song also knows as â€Å"America†. It served as a de-facto national anthem until â€Å"The Star-Spangled Banner† became the official U. S. national anthem. His hope is that the words â€Å"let freedom ring† will one day be true for everyone. He uses these words as a plea, a cry in the last lines â€Å"Let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire (†¦)†, then cites other U. S. cities, from New York to Georgia. His final wish is that people of all colours, creeds and races will finally be able to say they are â€Å"Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last! †. With the success of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s speech came the height of his fame. He was named Times magazine’s Man of the Year in January 1964; he met the Pope and he was invited to speak abroad. President Johnson invited King to the White House when he signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an Act greatly influenced by King’s role in Birmingham. The year ended on a high note when he received the Nobel Peace Prize on the 10th of December, 1964. King donated the 54,000$ prize money to the Civil Rights Movement. Shortly after collecting his prize, King and the SCLC focused on Selma, Alabama. Half of its 30,000 citizens were black yet only 350 were registered voters. The SCLC decided to launch a major vote-related campaign with months of hard campaigning, pre-banned marches and spouts of violence. The Ku Klux Klan murdered white Minister James Reeb in Selma, bringing the town to the attention of the rest of the U. S. Thousands of religious leaders demonstrated outside the White House, and soon after President Lyndon Johnson disclosed his Voting Rights Bill in a televised address. The SCLC’s Selma campaign led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, giving the government more power to control racial abuse at a local level of voting, and it prohibited tactics to prevent black voter registration. It was another huge success for Martin Luther King. After Selma, King changed focus and turned his attention to the North and West, with Chicago being chosen as the base for a Northern SCLC campaign. Having achieved everything that he could within legislation, King began to focus on economic issues as he realised that blacks needed help in job, housing and school-related matters. He also became increasingly vocal on the Vietnam War, attacking President Johnson’s policies, making him angry at King’s lack of loyalty. King received a lot of criticism from other civil rights leaders who felt he should be dedicating all of his time and energy to the African-American people and their needs instead of focusing on the Vietnam War. At the age of 39, Martin Luther King was assassinated on the balcony of a Memphis hotel room on the 4th of April 1968, 3 years after the success of â€Å"I have a Dream† and the March on Washington. He was in Memphis to support a strike by black sanitation workers, due to his increasing interest in economic matters. Immediately after his death riots broke out in cities all over the U. S. , with violence and arson becoming widespread. 3000 people were arrested and over 20,000 injured. Despite King’s death thousands of people came to Memphis to support the black sanitation workers’ strike, turning it into a great success. My opinion is that Martin Luther King’s determination and demand for racial equality in the U. S. was unprecedented and his role in prominent civil rights campaigns can certainly be viewed as pivotal in the change brought to U. S. legislation. He was the most inspirational civil rights leader America has ever known and his dignified, peaceful methods should be applauded. His achievements through the Civil Rights Movement and the SCLC, and his powerful â€Å"I have a Dream† speech made an important impact on America, bringing about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, earning King a significant place in American history. Today, America has its first African-American President, Barack Obama, something Martin Luther King would surely be incredibly proud of if he were alive. I feel that King’s hard work as a civil rights campaigner put the wheels in motion to make such a feat possible.