Speeches Summaries
‘I Have a Dream’ by King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech ‘I Have a Dream’ was given on August 28, 1963. The significant event occurred in Washington, DC, and the purpose of the address was to trigger the spirit of civil rights movements to create equal ground for white and black Americans. King acknowledged that emancipation, which President Lincoln signed a hundred years ago to end slavery in America, has not yielded results because, after those years, black Americans are still discriminated against in all aspects of life.
According to SullenToys (2011), King draws his arguments based on the United States law declaring self-governance, believing that all races deserved fair and equal treatment. In his speech, the King assured the crowd that one day, through their organized mass demonstration, freedom would come, and all citizens of the United States would have equal rights (SullenToys, 2011). With the prejudices that black Americans have faced over decades, the King, however, in his remarks, said that Negros are not yet achieved the freedom they are fighting for.
‘Black Lives Matters’ by Alicia Garza
On the other hand, Alicia Garza’s speech on ‘Black Lives Matters’ was another excellent speech that sparked the mass demonstrations in America to criticize brutalities and discrimination against black women citizens. According to the Center for Constitutional Rights (2021), Garza started her speech by congratulating black Americans on where they have reached despite the challenges and injustices they have encountered for decades. In this sense, she understood the aspiration of black Americans and was to be respected.
As such, Alicia developed the slogan ‘black lives Matter’ that gained popularity in the United States, a movement after the following instances of black women’s violation and discrimination (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2021). Moreover, Garza promised to work alongside black Americans and other interested groups to achieve black supremacy (Center for Constitutional Rights,2021). She pledged to intervene for the black population concerning the matter of violence and police brutality against the blacks living in the United States.
The Speakers’ Manner of Delivering the Talk
The speeches by King and Garza tend to address the inequality that black Americans in the United States have suffered. According to Chetty et al. (2020), segregation has been an issue for a long time in the United States; thus, black Americans have not had a smooth life compared to native Americans. The King delivered his speech years ago as compared to Garza’s speech. Although the two speeches talk on the same topic, they adopt different manners of delivering their points to their audience. Watching the two speeches, it is clear that they speak slowly and passionately to make their audience understand and feel what they say. However, the King’s approach to delivering his speech was more appropriate than that of Garza.
First, the King kept eye contact with his audience throughout his speech, making them understand his point. Moreover, the King drives his audience by giving personal examples. Secondly, in his speech, King employed rhetorical tools such as pathos, logos, ethos, and pathos to reinstate his point to his audience. Clarke et al. (2019) noted that employing rhetoric and figures of speech significantly engages an audience and enhances the emotional connections between the speaker and the audience. Repetitions and rising intonation were also other techniques that the King employed to capture his audience’s attention. For instance, he repeatedly says, “I have a dream” and “Now is the time” to instill the spirit of civil movement among his audiences.
The King’s use of pathos, ethos, and vocal intonations gave the crowd compassion and empowerment, especially the black Americans. They were ready to do what it took to gain their freedom. As noticed in the case of Garza’s speech, she does not keep much eye contact with her audience and lacks personal life examples. As such, it is clear that the King’s speech was clearly understood by his audience, considering that he employed various tools to appeal to his audience. As such, the King’s audience was empowered and excited by King’s message.
The Location of the Speech and Its Messaging
Considering the dates that the speeches were delivered, there is a big gap between the King’s and Garza’s speeches. The distinct difference that one can see watching the speeches is the number of listeners attending them and the possibility of seeing the speaker. The King’s speech was delivered during the President Lincoln memorial, and thus the occasion was attended by hundreds of people. Considering the large crowd, many of King’s audiences could not see him and thus could not build emotional connections as those who could see him.
On the other hand, Garza’s speech was held in a hall with relatively low attendance, as that of the King. As such, her audience could spot her and emotionally connect with her. Since Garza’s speech was given in a modern hall with improved designs, Garza’s messaging should have been better understood than the Kings since most of her audiences could connect emotionally with her gestures.
King’s and Garza’s Audiences
The two speeches were deliberately given to liberate black citizens living in the United States who were segregated and abused. The King’s audience was full of black Americans from all over the states who were tired of the widely practiced inequality. On the other hand, Garza’s audience was black women whose human rights were being violated.
Considering the two audiences, it is clear that most of the listeners were black Americans, and the movements in both cases were for liberation. However, because Garza’s speech advocated for black women’s rights, her audience consisted mainly of women as opposed to King’s, which hosted both men and women. Therefore, there is a significant difference between the two speeches and the audience in that Garza’s speech centered on women’s issues. In contrast, King’s speech was centered on the issues that affected the black population in the United States.
References
Center for Constitutional Rights. (2021). RadTalks: Alicia Garza. Web.
Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Saez, E., Turner, N., & Yagan, D. (2020). Income segregation and intergenerational mobility across colleges in the United States*. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. Web.
Clarke, J. S., Cornelissen, J. P., & Healey, M. P. (2019). Actions speak louder than words: How figurative language and gesturing in entrepreneurial pitches influences investment judgments. Academy of Management Journal, 62(2), 335–360. Web.
Greenberg, E. S. (2019). Struggle for democracy, 2018 elections, and updates edition reveal access card. Pearson.
SullenToys. (2011). Martin Luther King – I Have A Dream Speech – August 28, 1963. In YouTube. Web.