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EN 101
Dr.X
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SPEECH
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I have a dream’ speech was
delivered on August 28, 1963 and witnessed by thousands of
Americans and people all over the world. At the time, the black
Americans or otherwise referred to as Negros were being
mistreated at the hands of the whites. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. at that time led a group of black Americans to demand for
equality between all the Americans irrespective of their racial
orientations. He argues that the Emancipation Proclamation that
all the American people will be equal irrespective of their races
was signed long ago but even after those years the Negros was
still languishing in sheer discrimination and poverty (Little &
Brown 64). Dr. King succeeded in getting people sympathy by
using Logos, pathos and ethos.
Dr. King argues that the authors of the constitution guaranteed
all the Americans, whether black or white rights of happiness
and life in equal measure. He urges all the American people to
implement the promises of democracy and ensure justice for all.
He argues that all the Negros will not rest until their citizenship
rights are granted. That the ‘revolt will continue shake the
foundations of our nation until the bright days of justice
emerge.’ He tells his fellow blacks that they should continue to
protest in a discipline, peaceful manner and that their
championing for their rights should not make the hate the white
people, for not all of them have the same opinions concerning
the blacks. Dr. King further argues that they will not get

satisfied when some of their basic rights are reserved ‘For
Whites Only’ and their voting rights shunned.
Dr. King sums up his ‘dream’ by saying that a day shall come
when all the people will be the same. That was his dream and he
surely managed to argue out his belief. (Little& Brown 78).
Dr. Martin Luther’s speech is one of the most attractive
speeches ever. It is never boring to any reader and clearly
captures all the attention of the reader. He clearly puts his
points into the minds of his audience and the American people
at large. His speech is compounded by a set of repetitive words
and a rhythmic delivery. Such words as ‘Let freedom ring……’
and ‘We can never be satisfied’ are constantly repeated to
clearly drive the point and thus bring out a rhythmic action.
The speech is delivered in an utmost confidence that can only
amaze the reader. He delivers it with self-belief, fearless and is
eager to drive his point, this was despite the already tense
relationship between whites and blacks. He doesn’t fear to point
out that a day shall come when all the people will share the
facilities only reserved for the whites. In the speech, Martin
really connects with his audience. He speaks to them in a one on
one basis and directly points their rights to them. Such a speech
is never boring to the reader since the reader acts as the
audience and feels the connection with the orator. The fact that
Dr. King lives the story he is telling his audience really
motivates the reader to continue reading his speech. The context
of his speech was not limited to only what he was championing
for. He could regularly start with Old Testament stories and try
and relate to what was happening at the time. This jokes the
mind of the reader and in this manner does not make them bored
of reading the same line of story throughout the time. (Linkugel
& Allen 33).
The speaker of this text is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist
and a champion for the rights of the black people of America in
The 1960’s as said observed by (Correta 67). He had grown up
in an environment that the blacks were not seen as equal to the
whites, that the white people were more superior to the blacks

and thus were entitled to enjoy some privileges not enjoyed by
the blacks. He was addressing about 200,000 people in a square
(Little & Brown 12), most of whom were his fellow blacks who
together had formed a movement to champion for equity and
justice to all. There were, however some white Americans who
shared his ‘dream’ of an America for all the races. The message
to them was that they needed to stand up for themselves and
revolt until a time when they will be all equal. That being an
American ought not to be determined by the color of their skin
but by the content of their characters. This speech was delivered
at a time when the black American people were not regarded as
being in the same class as the whites and thus they never
enjoyed the same rights. Cases of persecution were common.
The blacks were confined to living in slums where the condition
state of living was poor. (Claybone 77).
Work Cited
King, Martin Luther. Martin Luther King. London: Little,
Brown, 2003. Print.
Linkugel, Wil A., and R. R. Allen. Contemporary American
Speeches; a Sourcebook of Speech Forms and Principles. 2d ed.
Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub., 2005. Print.
King, Martin Luther, and Coretta Scott King. The Martin Luther
King, Jr., Companion: Quotations from the Speeches, Essays,
and Books of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: St. Martin's,

2000. Print.
King, Martin Luther, and Coretta Scott King. The Words of
Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Newmarket, 2003. Print.
King, Martin Luther, and Clayborne Carson. A Call to
Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. New York: IPM (Intellectual Properties Management), in
Association with Warner, 2002. Print.