Preview

Mlk and Malcolm X Speeches

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
495 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mlk and Malcolm X Speeches
MLK and Malcolm X Speeches
The two speeches “I have a dream” and “The ballot or the bullet” are very powerful. They both fought for African Americans rights and were written by two important civil rights leaders, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Although King focused on peace and tranquility and Malcolm more to force and violence they both protested for freedom for the blacks. Within the two, they both used repetition throughout the speeches. King repeated to the audience that he had a dream in order to persuade his audience that there was hope to a brighter future and to continue to strive for it. As Malcolm repeatedly stated that this speech was not about him or his religion but about what everyone, African Americans, should be focused on and that being freedom. The two shared some similar characteristics however they were not alike. In the speech, “I have a dream”, King used a non-violent approach and it had the ability to not only influence people of color, but also people in different positions. Dr. King’s efforts caused a movement worldwide, lessening the segregation gap between black and white Americans. He made discrimination become small and brought “we” the people together. Malcolm X wanted to end all the racial discrimination of the nation, but instead of encouraging the nonviolence motive he told the African Americans that they either needed to take control are watched it beat them. He gave the people an insight that they had a choice either “the ballot or the bullet”.
Between the two, “I have a dream” is closely aligned with the African American Spirituals because they both focused more on being free in a more peaceful manner. The spirituals were words of hope as well as King’s speech. They both portrayed for better days without the cause for violence. MLK’s speech tone was more of determination and passion. King continuously used words like “One day…” and “I have a dream…” in spite of hopefulness. He believed strongly that one day justice

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The speaker of the well known speech, ‘I Have a Dream’ was its very own author, Martin Luther King Jr. This speech was mainly about freedom and equality for African Americans. King emphasized on African American history, and how him and his people have been treated. The argument he used was that the African Americans have gone through enough and they deserve freedom and equality as much as white people. To support his argument he uses three appeals; emotional, ethical, and finally logical.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Malcom vs. Dr. King

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dr. King and Malcolm X wanted equality for the African American people. They just had different points of views. When it came down to economy Malcolm used Black Nationalism, meaning that the blacks should keep the money they make within the black community. In the “Ballot or the Bullet”, Malcolm uses the rhetorical strategy of logos and pathos to appeal to his audience. He appeals to all blacks, whether Christian, Muslim, or even atheist. Dr. King on the other thinks that segregation itself should be demolished and that both races become one.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X were both central figures as leaders in the civil rights movement of the nineteen sixties. Although both leaders were striving towards the same goal of achieving equality, they both took different approaches to accomplishing their goals. This is evident through Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail, and Malcolm X's speech The Ballot Or The Bullet. Martin Luther King Jr felt the best way to reach racial equality was to keep faith in America. His approach was to preach the words of the Christianity through nonviolent protests, while refusing to conform to laws which provided rights and privileges to whites only. Malcolm X differed from Dr. King in that he was a Muslim that believed that change needed to be invoked through politics, claiming that America had failed African Americans through their inability to treat them like equal citizens. He believed that African Americans needed to stand up for themselves and meet with opposition preferably nonviolently, but violently if provoked to do so. Although both had opposing leadership styles, they both shared a lack of patience to sit around and wait for change to eventually happen. They both refused to be treated like second class citizens any longer and decided to make a drastic change.…

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Speech Ethos Pathos Logos

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Comparing Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” and Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” reveals strands of logos and pathos. For example, Malcolm X’s speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” addresses…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all, both men spoke of freedom. In Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech he brought to the attention of his audience that it had been 100 years since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into law, freeing all American slaves, yet “the Negro still is not free.” He quoted the Declaration of Independence that stated all men were created equal and guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet in the United States, the African…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King, Jr., a Civil Rights Activist of the 1950s, delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 to advocate for equal rights for all ethnicities and to convey the message that unity is essential to the strength of society. Martin Luther King, Jr. starts his speech by uniting the audience under a similar belief that, “all men would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    You can listen to a sound clip [requires RealPlayer, approx. 46sec] from this speech from Malcolm X : A Research Site.…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On August 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the prominent speech “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial to over 250,000 civil rights supporters. King’s speech was compelling and potent; it moved everyone. Furthermore, he helped change the world where there is justice. He believed in the equality between whites and blacks and died believing it. In addition, he strongly believes freedom exists for the blacks. He states, “[The white’s] destiny is tied up with [the black’s] destiny.” This quote emphasizes the problem of injustice in this world, and it makes the audience move into action. King’s speech was widely known, due to the effective tone he creates throughout his speech. His use of literary tropes and syntactical schemes help make this formidable tone. King’s speech influences the whites and blacks to listen by using extensive anaphora, metaphor, and diction to create a tone of necessity in his “I Have a Dream” speech.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Through an analysis of the PBS video, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and several passages from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, it can be concluded that while the two men wanted the same thing, they both had different views and beliefs; Malcolm X was angry, bitter and vengeful, while Martin Luther King Jr. was only concerned with fixing the issue at hand.…

    • 1674 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King and Malcolm (Little) X were both students, and bright ones at that! They, amongst the conflicts that the society presented, managed rather peculiarly to keep their minds open; that is, to say, they amassed copious amounts of knowledge about the life in this world. They composed their own philosophies and believed them to be true. They were superlatively the most committed believers of their theories. They both felt compelled to end the racism that the world offered towards the African-American society. For that reason, they set out with one common goal: to abolish this racism forever.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    MLK vs Walter lee younger

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King Junior’s “I Have a Dream” speech is similar to Walter Lee Younger’s dream in Lorraine Hansberry’s, A Raisin in the Sun. Both of the men were faced with poverty. Poverty was a large growing problem in the 1950s that many people had to face. Therefore, they did not have enough money to live an enjoyable life. Discrimination was a major problem in the 1950s. For example, colored people would have to go to different schools, drink out of different water fountains, and could not converse with the white people. They wanted all people to be treated not solely by the color of their skin. Walter Lee Younger’s dream and Martin Luther King’s dream both include a focus on ending poverty and discrimination.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mlk Speech Research Paper

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “On the 24th of August, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. had given his legendary speech.” (https://www.archives.gov/nyc/exhibit/mlk.html) MLK’s speech had a huge impact on today and on its time period. Without Martin Luther King Jr. we might have still been segregated, or not treated equally because of our race and ethnicity. Look at us now we have an African American President, we are truly equal.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 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
  • Powerful Essays

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. His dream was that one day whites and blacks could live together in equality. King and his rhetoric of idealism are what come to mind for most people when they think about the civil rights movement, but there is another famous civil rights leader who had some very different ideas than King. Malcolm X was the leader of the more radical civil rights movement in the early 1960’s. Perhaps no speech better exemplifies X’s stance on civil rights than the “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech of 1964. This speech outlines X’s opinions on integration, African Americans’ role in government and the community,…

    • 3768 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King Jr. The first step to any journey is always the hardest. Whether if it is for a completely new beginning or just a slight change within yourself, you struggle to not only have faith from within but also in your future. As a child raised in a Seventh-day Adventist household, faith has not only become a substantial part of my life but has morphed itself into my being. Erecting this stronghold of faith did not come without its test.…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays