Devin Mekhuri                                                                               10/28/19

                                   Civil Rights Motivational Speakers    

   Lincoln, Abraham. “The Gettysburg Address”

The Gettysburg Address 260 words speech was about equality, freedom, and a national unity.  beginning with the famous phrase, “Four score and seven years ago,” Lincoln honored the sacrifices American made for their Freedom from the British.“Four score and seven” is much more poetic and  much more noble than “Eighty-seven”. This is fitting, because 87 years earlier, the United States had won its freedom from Britain and gave America independence. This was a great setup for the next sentence “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.”since it questions the  same principles the nation was founded on “all men are created equal”.then he said “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.”This sentence respect for those who fought. It is show saying that their actions speak louder than words.To sum it up,Lincoln appeals to the audience by bringing up past events.

 

Source:Lincoln, Abraham. “The Gettysburg Address.” 1863. The Story of Abraham Lincoln, The National 

                                          

  LBJ’s speech “We Shall Overcome”

  On March 16th, 1965, Lyndon Baines Johnson delivered his speech, “We Shall Overcome” in response to the controversy about black rights and black voter eligibility.Throughout the speech he talks about every person, no matter skin color, race, party, or beliefs, has equal rights.In the speech he repeat words to strengthen his power of persuasion. Such as “there is no,” “we must not,” “let each of us,” and “I want to be,” to add to his claim that all Americans deserve equal rights.He also uses words like “we” or “us,” so his audience is led to believe that they are agreeing with Johnson’s opinion.Johnson said the idea in which America was founded on “All men are created equal” to explain the term “all men” includes black men. He states “The issue of equal rights for American Negroes is such an issue,” making his audience question the idea that a black and a white man are different.So it makes the audience’s putting them in the shoes of an American black man with little rights.

Source:LYNDON B. JOHNSON, “WE SHALL OVERCOME” (15 MARCH 1965)

                               Mather Luther king “I Have A Dream”

 “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most memorable and famous speeches of all time.It was about hope for a future America where blacks and whites will sit and live together. “It is a world in which children will no longer be judged by their skin color and where black and white alike will join hands”.It was a public speech  by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Freedom on August 28, 1963.In Martin luther speech he uses a lot of Repetition to emphasize his points.If you count the frequency of words used in King’s “I Have a Dream”,you will notice a pattern. The most commonly used word is freedom, which is used twenty times in the speech. This makes sense, since freedom is one of the important themes of the speech.Other words or phrases that were repeated a lot was we, us, nation, america, justice and dream.These are all words that have Significant value to Martin Luther King I Have a Dream speech.Since Martin Luther King used these words to help develop his ideas of a better world and make the speech more memorable.MLK also use famous people to help reenforce him speech.You can improve the credibility of your arguments by referring to the words of credible speakers or writers in your speech. 

 Source:Martin Luther king “I Have A Dream” August 28, 1963

 

                                  Malcolm X ”Learning To Read”

Malcolm X was a very influential and power speaker during the civil rights movement. He is a self educated spokesman of the blacks community.His craving to get education made him what he is known for today, a powerful and influential speaker in the Black American society. Malcolm X believed that blacks can only achieve independence if they distance themselves from the Whites. Malcolm portrays a heartfelt tone throughout his article “Learning to Read.” In the beginning of his  he conveys that he was feeling “envy towards others’ stock of knowledge.” With his passion towards education Malcolm X feel like he opened up a new world.he said that he “had never been so truly free,“ even when he was in prison at the time still.Malcolm X tone has shifted from more of a positive passion to a negative passion when talking about the history of black men.He show this by talking about how wrong the history was about pick dominant skin color.Towards the end of “Learning to Read” Malcolm X had the same  strong passion about knowledge.Learning have help him study more intensively, and helped change the course of history.

Source:Malcolm X ”Learning To Read” May 19, 1925

 Mahatma Gandhi “Quit India”

 Gandhi is one of the world’s most influential human rights activists of his time. In his speech, Gandhi called for the peaceful of both groups. They were pushed to realize that they were Indians first and Muslims and Hindus second. As a result, members of each group temporarily put their differences aside and together took a stand against the British.Gandhi was the leader of the movement for India’s independence from British rule which the British refused to give at first.  At the time the speech was given, there were rising tensions between the two religious groups. There was tension between the two groups due to their different beliefs and ideas. Members of each group temporarily put their differences aside and together took a stand against the British. “Quit India” speech focuses mostly on Indian audience and people around the world empathy with his political freedom and human rights movement.Since there was many civil rights activists at this time it makes it easier for india to push for independence.

source: Mahatma Gandhi “Quit India” 8 August 1942