Importance of I Have a Dream Speech - Essay Example

 Importance of “I Have a Dream” speech Introduction The speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King Jr is very important in the memory of the public. The speech puts the civil rights movement into the minds and hearts of Americans and beyond (Kotz, 2005). “I have a dream” speech attracted public attention and contributed to the Nobel Peace Prize after Martin Luther King Jr was named Man of the Year by Time magazine. The format of the speech is simple and this aids its memorability to the public. The speech falls into two parts: the first half depicts not just the idealized American dream, but also the picture of an incensed American nightmare of racial discrimination and injustice (Lawson, 2006). This is very important to the public as the speech calls for action: “Now is the time”. The second half of “I have a dream” speech paints the American dream of a fairer, better future of racial integration and harmony. This paper seeks to discuss the importance of “I have a dream” speech through the rhetorical analysis of the speech. August 28, 1963 marked a very important history of the American people. The portions of “I have a dream” speech are up to date still fresh in the memory of the public and often quoted: "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 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" (Jackson, 2006). These are very important to the memory of the public particularly because the speech itself called not only for the rights of the Negro, but also for the rights of all American people, moreover for unity and friendship among all Americans (Cohen, 2000). This is indicated in the phrases such as "I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." (Glisson, 2006) The public up to date still find these phrases appealing and uniting Americans. Many icons still use such phrases to unite people and carry out campaigns and rallies, especially the concluding paragraphs of “I have a dream” speech: "And when this happens, when we allow freedom to 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 to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" (Herst, 2007). This has remained a uniting factor among Americans and reminds them of civil rights movement that alleviated racial discrimination and injustices. The speech has consistently depicted America as a country whose credo is liberty and justice for all and that the country men must live up to the precepts of the nation with all of its children (Frady, 2002). Martin Luther King Jr presented his speech as a civil rights activist not only black Americans but to all people of Americans. The speech has since promoted idea of unity and equality.  The goal of the speech was particularly for Americans to understand and agree with him.  The speech remains important to the public as it brings the issues of society that affect entire America logically and emotionally. Another importance can be drawn from the issue of civil rights that was clearly brought up by the speech: Martin Luther King Jr used rhetorical strategies to the audience that was racially mixed and viewed them as equal and not different in any particular way. The memory of the public cannot escape the bravery of Martin Luther King Jr, this is because at the time of the speech, there was an enormous amount of controversy that civil rights were facing. Martin Luther King Jr was even arrested few months prior to his speech in one of his anti-segregation dissents and protests, he however continually fought for civil rights. The goal of the speech was to wholly eliminate all problems between the different American races, particularly Black versus White. In his speech he says: “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” (Branch, 2006) From the beginning of the “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr brings the public back to when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, the very beginning of America. This Emancipation Proclamation gave hopes and freed all slaves of America. However, Martin Luther King Jr points out how after 100 years the Blacks still do not have their well deserved freedom (Val, 2006). The speech takes the public memory in action by pointing out the irony of America and develops argument why the Blacks deserve equality.  The speech reminds the public, in the Declaration of Independence, that all men were created equal, and hence the Blacks are equal to the Whites. This showed the irony of the public beliefs during Martin Luther King Jr time as well as the ideals over which America was founded (Kirk, 2007). The transitions of the speech into the present inspire public to take action. Martin Luther King Jr says, “This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.”  The public is urged to take action without hesitation immediately for America to be democratic truly. Martin Luther King Jr reminds the public how America was ought to have been created on the ideals.  The speech has rhetorical device of anaphora that emphasizes the urgency of the America situation (Robbins, 2007). The repeated phrase, “Now is the time” followed by the strategy that Martin Luther King Jr had for helping America makes the public realize how pivotal and important for people to act immediately. The public has since remained positive to the words of the speech and the intentions of Martin Luther King Jr. the repeated title of the speech “I have a dream”  portrays the envisions of Martin Luther King Jr as a racially equal America.  The public finds this important as it helps in uniting the American people, especially the phrases that emphasize on the equality of men. The speech urges the public to get along well: former slave and slave owner. The repeated phrase “I have a dream” is very much convincing to the public as everyone realizes that they should follow and live their dreams (Ayton, 2005). Conclusion In summary, the “I Have a Dream” speech is very important to the public memory both in America and around the world. This is because of the nature and goal of the speech. The public finds the speech very inspiring and motivating to unite people and see each other as equal. For example, Martin Luther King Jr states that “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” (Haig, 1982). This emotionally inspires the public, and in fact it brought tears to the audience. This paper has discussed the importance of Martin Luther King Jr’s speech to the public memory via a detailed rhetorical analysis as given above. References Ayton, Mel (2005). A Racial Crime: James Earl Ray And The Murder Of Martin Luther King Jr. New York: Archebooks Publishing. Branch, Taylor (2006). At Canaan's Edge: America In the King Years, 1965–1968. London: Simon & Schuster. Cohen, Adam (2000). Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley: His Battle for Chicago and the Nation. Back Bay Frady, Marshall (2002). Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life. New York: Penguin. Glisson, Susan M. (2006). The Human Tradition in the Civil Rights Movement. Boston: Rowman & Littlefield. Haig, Bosman. (1982). The inaccuracies in the reprintings of Martin LutherKing’s “I Have A Dream” speech, Communication education, 31(1) 107-117 Herst, Burton (2007). Bobby and J. Edger. London: Carroll & Graf. Jackson, Thomas F. (2006). From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice. University of Pennsylvania Press. Kirk, John A., (2007). Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: Controversies and Debates, 224 pp. Kotz, Nick (2005). Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Laws that Changed America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books. Lawson, Steven (2006). Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945–1968. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Robbins, Mary Susannah (2007). Against the Vietnam War: Writings by Activists. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Val, Mark. (2006). The “Integrative” Thetoric of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” Speech, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 9(1); 51-78 Read More