What Is The Purpose Of I Have A Dream Speech
Within Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a significant amount of time is spent discussing previous government action in order to expose American hypocrisy. Beginning with “Five score years ago,” a powerful allusion toward Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg address, King reminds the audience of the man who originally freed the slaves. In doing so, he simultaneously asks his audience to question the ludicrous amount of time it is taking for Black Americans to be not only free but truly equal. King directly addresses this injustice soon after, referring to the Declaration of Independence as “a promissory note” which “every American was to fall heir.” Putting emphasis on “every American,” King pushes the idea that Black Americans
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Seeing it as an important issue, King directly addresses it referring to some as “white brothers” whose destiny is “tied up” with theirs, introducing the idea that not all white people are hateful toward African Americans. Instead, he encouraged Black Americans to see them as comrades in the same fight for continued freedom against an oppressive government. Continuing with his speech, King begins only using “we” in an attempt to show the unity of White and Black Americans in the struggle for equality, going as far as to say, “We cannot walk alone.” By linking their fates, King encourages cooperation amongst the two races as both are fighting for the same goal in the end. King creates a strong connection in this claim of “inexorably bound freedom,” understanding nothing in America was valued higher than freedom. When bringing up the issue, he opened the eyes of many White Americans who, up to that point, were indifferent or hostile toward the movement, due to prejudice and ignorance. Above all, King was a pacifist, who strongly believed in the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, a man who only ever sought to bring people together with peace and love. Therefore, any violence would have directly contradicted his deep-seeded beliefs; the dream behind the speech was not simple freedom, but for people to live together in
Seeing it as an important issue, King directly addresses it referring to some as “white brothers” whose destiny is “tied up” with theirs, introducing the idea that not all white people are hateful toward African Americans. Instead, he encouraged Black Americans to see them as comrades in the same fight for continued freedom against an oppressive government. Continuing with his speech, King begins only using “we” in an attempt to show the unity of White and Black Americans in the struggle for equality, going as far as to say, “We cannot walk alone.” By linking their fates, King encourages cooperation amongst the two races as both are fighting for the same goal in the end. King creates a strong connection in this claim of “inexorably bound freedom,” understanding nothing in America was valued higher than freedom. When bringing up the issue, he opened the eyes of many White Americans who, up to that point, were indifferent or hostile toward the movement, due to prejudice and ignorance. Above all, King was a pacifist, who strongly believed in the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, a man who only ever sought to bring people together with peace and love. Therefore, any violence would have directly contradicted his deep-seeded beliefs; the dream behind the speech was not simple freedom, but for people to live together in