"I Have a Dream"

            Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech was given on August 28, 1963 from the Lincoln Memorial. He was the last of many speakers who spoke after President Kennedy’s legislation promised to protect the civil rights of all people, including African Americans. This speech had a lot of power and significance behind it because he was one of the main leaders in the civil rights movement, and not only did he have a strong, powerful, and convincing voice that the large crowd would listen to, he got the nation’s attention about the need for equality of all races and ending of discrimination.

            Martin Luther King Jr. used many examples of paralanguage in his speech. On pg. 87, Dr. King says, “We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” His pitch really increases here because he wants to make a point to the crowd that they will not just stand around any longer waiting for something to happen. They are going to take action and stand up for what is right until they are satisfied. Speaking rate is shown on pg. 86-87 in the quote, “The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust white people…..” He is trying to say that the violent groups rising up such as the Black Panthers should not lead the black community to hate against all white people, because some have come to their senses. His volume also increases on pg. 86 with “all men.” He wants to emphasize that every single person should be given the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” (pg.86) This is also an example of wording that is concrete. Everyone knows that famous line from the Declaration of Independence, because those words are something everyone knows because it’s an important part to our history and individual freedom.

            Dr. King keeps his wording short and simple on pg. 88 saying, “where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.” This is easy for the average person to understand because he uses basic words and repeats them throughout the phrase so that it’s descriptive and to the point. This same idea can be applied to when he uses specific words on pg. 88, “black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants, and Catholics.” He wants the audience to know that everyone is included under the word “all.” He also uses repetition a lot in this speech. On pg. 88, “Free at last!” is repeated at least three times to emphasize his dream and goal during the civil rights movement. Many of his repeated words also can be used for restating main ideas. Although “I have a dream” is found randomly throughout this speech it mostly can be found on pg. 87. His main idea is that one day he will see every person in the United States free and that the hatred of others will cease to exist.  (567)

*reference to a typed copy of Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech*