“Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last.” Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these famous words at the end of his I Have A Dream speech, given at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington D.C.
King gave this speech in light of the violent attacks of peaceful civil rights protestors in Birmingham, Alabama that same year. In the speech, King calls on Americans of all different backgrounds to peacefully fight for the rights of African Americans, tying in to Sustainable Development Goal No. 16 of promoting peace, justice, and strong, inclusive institutions.
In the speech, King called on many commonplaces that are part of the larger ideological framework of “American Democracy“. In doing so, he attempted to draw on people’s patriotism in order to motivate them to take action against racial discrimination. King also effectively considered the rhetorical situation of his speech, taking into account who his audience was and how they would have felt about the events in Birmingham. Furthermore, King had to make sure the speech had a sense of urgency in order to encourage the passage of Civil Rights Legislation.
In my analysis, I will also look at King’s Speech through the lens establishing trust, which King accomplishes by playing to people’s emotions through his stirring delivery and effective use of repetition. Finally, I will look at the speech through the lens of social movement studies, which examines how movements build solidarity.
I believe this is an important speech to analyze because it was very effective in catalyzing change. By learning about the strategies King used, we can include them in contemporary speeches in order to effectively call people to take action to achieve sustainable development goals. Thank you.
I love that you analyzed such a memorable civic artifact that everyone is familiar with. MLK’s speech continues to be relevant in today’s society, so it will be interesting to see how you analyze the different aspects of his speech, and maybe viewers can even relate it to current forms of activism.
King’s speech is such a staple in history. I really am looking forward to seeing your full video. I think the steps you’re going to take in the analyzation process will produce a very educational video.
“I have a Dream” is certainly an important speech that deserves to be analyzed and discussing the kairos of the speech would certainly give the speech a new light to me at least.
King’s speech is one of the most popular speeches in our history. I look forward to your more n depth analysis of it, as this speech is one of the reasons why America is a better place than was.
This is a speech almost everybody has heard of, or at least they have heard the “I Have a Dream” part. It was very well done how you related the speech to the UN’s sustainable development goals and also made it very clear which lenses you will be using. You laid out your plan very well and I am excited to see what more you have to say.
I think it was clever that you chose this speech since almost everyone is familiar with it, so there is already some background knowledge there. When giving your speech, the only thing I would’ve changed is for you to put the visual rhetoric on the whiteboard while presenting. Aside from that you did a great job with your word choice all throughout your speech!
That quote was a great hook and peaked my attention! This concept for a speech is, was, and continues to be one of the most important for human rights! I love the direction you’re going in, as there is so much to be analyzed of this incredible piece of history!!!