Rhetoric Analysis of Obama’s Dedication Speech

December 1,1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for deliberately refusing to resign her seat on a public bus. 58 years later, in 2013, a statue was raised in the National Statuary Hall in honor of Rosa Parks’ courageous decision to act disobediently and protest racial discrimination. President Barack Obama, in his optimistic speech while dedicating the statue, proudly speaks on how Ms. Parks is greatly deserving of this honor. 

Obama uses connotative language along with repetition to make his audience better understand the significance and severity of the actions taken. He concludes that “Day after day, week after week, month after month…”(line 30) thousands of Montgomery commuters boycotted the public transportation. There is a clear use of repetition in his words to correlate with the repetition in the actions and the hard work that was necessary to make a change. Obama establishes that the protesters were “walking for respect, walking for freedom” (line 34). Repetition, used again here, notes that the boycotts were absolutely necessary as there were multiple motivators behind the execution of these actions. In line 35,  “… driven by a solemn determination to affirm their God-given dignity”, Obama refers to the determination of those that participated in the boycotts. In doing this, he helped the audience better understand how the protestors felt about the purpose of their actions. The particular word choice and usage within this speech gives the audience insight as to how Ms. Parks formulated hope and determination among many to fight for a change.

Obama utilizes similes and pacing to highlight the pride that is to be felt by all associated with the movement. The pacing of the sentence, “So did thousands of Montgomery, Alabama, commuters” (line 27) applies great emphasis to the wide-spread impact of Parks’ actions. In  line 42, Obama employs a simile “... the entire edifice of segregation, like the ancient walls of Jericho, began to slowly come tumbling down.” The simile highlights the great triumph that lies in a person of color’s ability to sit in whichever seat desired. Once again, pacing is used in line 82 as Obama accentuates that Parks was able to “expand our conception of justice - our conception of what is possible.” In this sentence, the pacing draws attention to the great effect of Parks’ action as it lead to the change in mindset among many. Obama, throughout his speech, applies great emphasis among the many ways in which the movement, helped sparked by Rosa Parks herself, impacted the individual lives of all that participated and following generations.

Proud President Barack Obama optimistically concludes that the revolutionary movement sparked by the actions of one fearless and daring woman deemes her worthy of an honorary statue.