TOW #5 | Written - Martin Luther's "I Have a Dream"

The mid-1900s displayed racial segregation to its fullest--from schools to public restrooms, the United States had separate facilities for whites and blacks. However, a man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. took the first leap in ending segregation through means of peaceful protests. One of his most influential speeches, “I Have a Dream,” still clings to the hearts of Americans today, reminding them of the powerful message King delivered to the American people in an effort to stop racial discrimination and give African-Americans the rights that they deserve.

Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes a variety of rhetorical devices, but one of the most prominent devices he uses is allusion. In the beginning of his speech, King alludes to Abraham Lincoln, describing him as a “great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today” (2). By alluding to Abraham Lincoln, King brings a well-respected figure that all Americans know and think highly of to support his claim of ending racial segregation. Because Lincoln is a well-known, adored figure that advocated for equal rights for blacks, King uses Lincoln’s authoritative status to build credibility so that the audience is able to find credence in King’s argument from the beginning of his speech. 

In addition to an allusion to Lincoln, King also alludes to the Declaration of Independence, stating that according to it, all men, black and white, were promised “‘unalienable rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness’” (4). Using the Declaration of Independence, one of the speeches that are a major asset to our country, King proves how that the United States was not made to segregate between races, but rather give equal rights to everyone, despite their race. Pulling out such an iconic line that everyone in America knows from the Declaration of Independence portrays how America and the people of America should begin to treat everyone with “unalienable rights.” It further allows the audience to understand the importance of equal rights to the United States and the original intent one of the United States’ most well-known speeches that helped rebuild the country out of slavery.

Being an iconic figure in black history, Martin Luther King Jr. did more than deliver a speech for the American people--he began a revolution that would soon grant African-Americans the “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness” that they should have been given from the beginning.