Mlk Speech

Critical Thinking 1

Martin Luther King Jr. - I Have a Dream Speech

The 1960's were a changing time for America. Soon to be gone were the conservative fifties as many post-war baby boomers became young adults. The youth of American was no longer content to continue with traditional thinking, it was a time for a revolutionary change. The changes would affect values, laws, education, lifestyles and entertainment. All of this would take place during a turbulent time for our country. The Civil Rights Movement, the Viet Nam War, Communism, war protesters, draft dodgers, political unrest and assassinations were all a part of everyday news.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King a Civil Rights Leader delivered a speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This speech was given at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. 100 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln. The location is referred to as "symbolic" in Dr. King's speech as he addresses the inequalities of the American Negro of the present day.

When I first started reading this speech I felt it had strong tendencies towards egocentric, emotive and prejudicial thinking. This was evident to me when Dr. King began his speech by discussing the fact that the "Negro is still not free" and an "exile in his own land" and that the American people had "defaulted" on a debt to the Negro. Dr King compares our banking system to the debt owed the Negro people and the fact that America had defaulted on its obligations. After reading further I came to realize that Dr. King's analogy was an excellent way to reach out in terms we could all understand. I believe that the speech can be associated with all levels of Bloom's reasoning. Using Bloom's model the speech seems to follow the six levels of learning from knowledge through evaluation.

The purpose of Dr. King's speech was to enlighten the American people by dramatizing "an appalling condition" that was occurring in the lives of the Negro. References to promises made one hundred years earlier that gave the Negro hope and freedom. To appeal to our sense of compassion by reminding us of the promise of equality made to each and every one of us by our forefathers. Although not in physical captivity, the Negro of the present day was a slave to poverty, discrimination and segregation. While racism was everywhere more obvious were the southern states where designated water fountains, restrooms and bus seats continued to separate the Negro and serve to remind them of their place in society. The American Negro was tired of injustice and began to protest through marches, rallies, and sit-ins. The prime example was Rosa Parks refusal to move to a seat in the rear of bus used for public transportation.

Some may have viewed Dr. King's speech as threatening when he tells us "it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro." Then goes on to tell us that we are in for a "rude awakening" if changes do not occur. Using the culture in 1963 Dr. King hinted at revolution but turned his words towards peace. The answer to gaining equality and freedom did not include "bitterness and hatred." As Dr. King speaks of the injustices he also speaks of trust and unity as one answer to the issues at hand. Dr. King is clear in his instruction