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Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's Speech

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On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a moving speech on the racial injustices African Americans were facing. Protesters from all over the United States came to be a part of such a mighty demonstration, protesting racial inequality in front of President Lincoln’s memorial. Dr. King spoke powerfully to condemn the brutal injustices that African Americans were facing, and to urge protesters to unite in peace to fight for justice for all Americans.
Dr. King explained that through the Emancipation Proclamation and the Declaration of Independence, all Americans should be given opportunity to strive toward “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. However, African Americans had been disadvantaged and not given such opportunity through racial inequality. Such inequalities resulted in poverty, insufficient public …show more content…
King also had a special message for Black protesters to not have a “distrust of all white people”, because some were allies in the struggle, especially those that were in attendance of the speech. He warned us also to not succumb to physical violence during protesting, as protesters were becoming more militant. This was extremely important to express to promote the concept of unity during the fight for civil rights. Black people were getting tired of being abused by an unjust system, and were willing to fight back in a more physical fashion. However, Dr. King promoted a more non-violent approach. He implored that we must work together in peace in order to achieve the goal of justice and equality in the US for all citizens.
This powerful speech was an important building block in the civil rights movement that condemned the racial injustices that African Americans faced, and promoted unity and peace in the fight to remedy those injustices. This speech contained inspiring words to continue the fight for justice for all. The beautiful concepts in this speech can be still used to fight for civil rights, especially in today’s political

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