A Different Approach

Racism was a large issue in America during the early twentieth century because colored people’s freedom was limited when they were segregated from white people. Racism was a controversial issue because the founding of America was based on the idea of living a life of freedom. There were several approaches that different African American leaders made, many of which involved protests, to show white people that racism was wrong. Martin Luther King Jr. was most effective because he fought for his rights and beliefs in a nonviolent way. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, he uses analogies that refer to concepts that America was founded on, such as Christianity and the Declaration of Independence, to appeal to his audience’s emotions so that they can realize that racism is wrong.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a distinguished leader because he fought against racism in a calm, logistic approach. He describes the segregation that blacks have felt through images of darkness and isolation when he describes a Negro living on an island of poverty while everyone else is thriving. He then supports his allusion by using the Declaration of Independence to state that each man is guaranteed the rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Martin Luther King Jr. used an allegory that contradicted principles that America was founded on in order to appeal to his audience’s emotions. Many people support documents such as the Declaration of Independence because they are unique to America and were created by inspired men such as Thomas Jefferson. Since America was founded on Christianity, he refers to prayer and the Lord so that he can show how racism cannot exist with such divine things. He also makes comparisons to the land, such that all of the crooked landmarks will be made straight so that everything could be seen on the same level, like the Lord intended. He says that part of his dream is for our nation to, at some point, be able to struggle together, pray together, and even go to jail together. In his speech he referenced the founding of America and divine things related to it to show that there is little difference between white and black people.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an effective speaker because he used principles that most people agree on to emphasize his point that racism is unethical in America. I believe that is well known more than one hundred years later because he did not resort to violence, but instead appealed to people’s emotions so that they could have sympathy for African Americans. He used the sacred and well-known Declaration of Independence, as well as Christian principles to persuade whites that segregation cannot coexist with the principles that America was founded on. By appealing to his audience through logical reasoning in a nonviolent approach, white people were more likely to believe that racism was wrong.