Martin Luther King, Jr.

Perhaps one of the most well-known speeches in American History was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. On August 28, 1963 more than 200,000 blacks and whites marched to the Lincoln Memorial to protest the segregation that was still happening in the United States. King was a prominent preacher turned orator and a major player in the Civil Rights Movement of the time. He later received a Nobel Prize for his work in leading out the non-aggressive resistance. In the speech "I Have a Dream," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tries to convince the American white population to end racism and segregation by using religious allusions.

Many times in his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King uses religious allusions. An allusion is a reference to something when it is assumed that those listening know where it comes from. In Dr. King’s cause, he makes allusions from the Bible. This makes complete sense that he would refer to the Bible because he was a Baptist minister before he ever started campaigning for civil rights. It also makes great rhetorical sense as well. At this time in history, most everyone in the nation believed in a god and there were very few, if any, vocal atheists. By mentioning God and even quoting biblical scriptures, he is establishing his ethos with the audience. He is showing that he, as well as all black people, are just like any other American, they believe in the same things, the same God, and even read and quote from the same scripture. His allusions are also used to pull on the heartstrings (pathos). By saying that we are all God’s children not only makes them feel unified, but also should make some of the whites feel bad for seeing them as something so different from them.

In my opinion this was a great tool to be used at the time but in the present day would not work quite so well. Nowadays, we have so many people wanting to do their own thing and not attribute it to a God and to have someone mention him would stir up their hearts but not to do the right thing. Although, during Martin Luther King’s time it was a very good tool to use and it got his point across very well.