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Rhetorical Analysis of I Have a Dream

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Racism in the United States was a huge issue during the mid-20th century; African Americans were among the targeted groups that suffered from discrimination. Even though the blacks were said to be free they were constantly being victimized due to the corrupt justice system. Separate but equal was an understatement, but they continued to fight for their freedom with the help of civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. He was a well renowned member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as well as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was involved in several civil rights boycotts and protests hoping to gain the victory of equality in the civil rights movement. Martin Luther Kings’ most famous speech, “I Have a Dream” was given at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The impact that this speech had opened eyes of thousands and painted a picture of the unjust society they were living in. In his speech he carefully used three different types of rhetorical methods: ethos, pathos, and logos. Since Mr. King was an African American he portrayed this message more effectively using ethos. He knew exactly how the protesters felt during this time period. In his speech he stated, “We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways on to hotels of the cities as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.” He was never going to give up on the movement and its fundamentals. Therefore, the African Americans firmly believed in him and that he would fight for their justice. He had the ability of changing ones mindset by giving real life examples of what was actually going on. He then said, “Some of you have come fresh from narrow cellsfrom areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the

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