Speech Analysis, “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution ended slavery. However, racism and segregation was still a problem. As segregation continued on, African Americans continued to fight for their rights. A man named Martin Luther king, Jr., led many in peaceful protest. His words inspired people of all color and all ages to take a stand in what they believed in. Just like Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy affected many through his speeches. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy inspired people to make a change, to stand up for what they believed in.

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote many pieces and spoke many speeches that gave people hope.In his famous speech, “I Have a Dream”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke with wisdom and strength. He gave his audience true inspiration. He wrote, “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in unity. He believed that with unity change can happen. He used that optimism to bring people together to create a union of hope, as he says in his speech, “knowing that we will be free one day.”

Just like Martin Luther King, Jr. Robert F. Kennedy also made an impact on the perspective of peace and hope. On the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Robert F. Kennedy spoke. He spoke from his heart to a crowd of hopeless and depressed people. He said, “You can be filled with bitterness and with hatred and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization, black people amongst blacks, white people amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that is spread across our land with an effort to understand, have compassion and love.” While other states protested and rioted, Indianapolis, the state that he spoke to, did the opposite. They stayed calm, knowing that peace and love could take them further than violence and hatred.

Martin Luther King, Jr. made a difference in the world by taking a stand in what they believe in and giving that on to others who need that confidence and strength. As Martin Luther King, Jr. says in his famous speech, I Have a Dream, “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest—quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.” And those people did that, they went back to their states and continued to fight for their rights with not only hope, but confidence that change will come.

The two inspiring men made a strong impact during hard times. They gave people hope that freedom and equality was coming their way.