Perhaps it's my fault as I didn't give you enough instruction. Perhaps some of you are still unfamiliar with how the blog works when you are supposed to use it at home. Perhaps some of you simply forgot or did not want to do your homework.
In any case, let's do better this next time, and let's try again.
So this time read and listen to Dr. King's speech on that day as you will see the link below. Read actively and pick a part of the speech that means the most to you. Take some quotes from it to share in your Comment and tell us why this part of the speech stands out to you.
This way we will have something specific in our comments, and in writing, specific is almost always better!
Okay, here are the links and I look forward to your specific comments on this great historic speech by Dr. King.
http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyR8h9iimw4
One of the parts that means the most to me in Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech is when he states, "But 100 years later the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition." It is true. Even now, discrimination still occurs. It's stupid and arrogant for someone to be racist but we still have people who are. Another aspect of his speech that stands out to me is how he repeats himself at the beginning of sentences to get his point across, such as, "I have a dream, we cannot be satisfied, now is the time, etc."
ReplyDeleteDr. King's speech was so affective. Martin Luther King was an activist and like many leaders before him. Dr. King and many others all came together and joined in Washington D.C. to give his "I have a dream speech". Dr. King see's a different world from his, he knows that if little black and white kids boy or girl came together and played without being judged like he was would make a better world. Martin Luther King wanted freedom for every colored person in his I have a dream speech he said "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." This means that he thought all men should be treated equally, and one day we will all have the evidence in our hands that states that everyone is equal black or white. their is another quote that I loved from his speech "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." That means that everyone is going to be free one day and all race will get together. Martin Luther King was an idol for his colored people now they had a person to follow and lead them to get their freedom.
ReplyDelete"Sons of former slaves and Sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood". This really spoke to me, through imagery I could imagine this joining of 2 men showing how change is necessary. At the time of this speech this would be almost impossible to do in public without causing a scene, which was truly saddening. Now people would not bat an eye at seeing this, which shows that society can change when those who were prejudice learned the error of their ways. I can not even imagine what it was like to live in that time as a person of color. Although I was not alive, my parents were and from I have been told it was truly a shameful time in our nation, that racism was so prevalent it was just apart of daily life. The individual could do little to change a nation but MLK did this with his speech.
ReplyDelete"Even though I face difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream" I love this quote. It really shows how passionate he is. It is a strong sentence that means so much. He was willing to keep fighting no matter how hard it was and no matter how difficult it was. He would keep fighting until one day his dream was a reality.
ReplyDelete"When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the constitution and Deceleration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men-yes, black men as well as white men- would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." I found this to be one of the most convincing points in the entire speech. Although the founding fathers clearly stated that all men are guaranteed their unalienable rights, the citizens found a way to make African Americans suffer. After the slaves were freed, they still suffered from Jim Crow laws and the idea of "separate but Equal".
ReplyDeleteDr. King uses so much repetition to get his point across and, in my opinion, it makes the speech much more meaningful. For example, Dr. King takes a small, short, simple line from a patriotic song that everyone knows and applied it. "Let freedom ring" became the line that made the speech really hit home with people. The line hit home because Dr. King talked about letting freedom ring from New York to Colorado, California to Misissippi, and Tennessee to Pennsylvania. All across the nation let freedom ring.
ReplyDelete"Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice." This quote spoke to me because used great figurative language to described the situation the United States was in. He used great detail and you could really feel the emotion he was using through the tone of his voice. He showed segregation as a dark path and used racial justice as a sunlit path to show how bad one side was compared to the other. The "I have a dream part..." still gives me goosebumps because it came from the heart. There was no script involved everything he said about the dream was felt and I believe the best things ever said come from the heart.
ReplyDeleteKing starts off his speech stating "This will be the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of our nation." In my opinion I believe that this statement is true, because the speech attracted so many people and was so powerful. No other demonstration could compare to Dr. Kings speech on the inequalities of Black Americans. His diction and figurative language cemented the credibility of his speech and had people listening and excited. The energy of the crowd stands testament to the overall success of Dr. Kings speech."No, no we are not satisfied until justice flows down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream." This is a prime example of King's stylistic figurative language that just pulls the audience in and creates such a powerful reaction. Martin Luther King Jr. was not only a great leader for black rights but also a master at the English Language which brought him much success in his other endeavors.
ReplyDelete"One hundred years later the negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land." I love the way he describes how African Americans felt in their own land. This part stands out to me because there isn't a better way to describe how African Americans felt. Event hough it was their country and land they were treated separately and felt excluded.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Had a Dream" speech I would have to say my favorite quote is his opening line. It reads,"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." This is my favorite part of the speech because it shows the confidence that Dr. King had in the difference that he was going to make. He knew that he was going to finally change our nation, no matter what it was going to take. Without Dr. King and him truly believing that change was possible, our society might have never changed. He was an amazing man with an even more amazing dream, a dream that came true.
ReplyDeleteI found Martin Luther King Jr.'s use of anaphora as the most profound part of his speech, "But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountain side. Let freedom ring. . .". This part of the speech stood out to me because it alluded to a song, and also successfully struck its own chord - I mean he speaks it with so much confidence - and on top of that, he speaks in terms of the whole country. MLK calls the whole country to action at the end of his speech. I chose this quote because I think the allusion to a prevalent song was genius, every time someone who heard his speech who heard the song, would be reminded to do something about the state of slavery in the US. It's a part of the speech that sticks in your brain from the repetition of "let freedom ring" and sticks twofold because it alludes to the song, and the sticking is used successfully to call the audience to action, time and time again.
ReplyDeleteThe "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most moving speeches of all time, there are so many strong and moving points it is hard to chose just one. The part i think that stood out to me the most would be when MLKJ Said "It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check." This stands out to me because it refers to the Declaration of Independence, which states that all men are created equally and have the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness. At the time even though the slaves have been free for 100 years, they were still not able to Pursue those 3 things.
ReplyDeleteA quote from the M.L.K I have a dream speech that really stood out to me was, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I think that it was a really smart idea to use a direct from the Declaration of Independence in his own speech. “That all men are created equal” is something that was agreed upon but with so many restrictions that it seemed to not be a true statement. I think this is one of the greatest quotes in history because it is based upon something that we all value as Americans. In this part of the speech he continues by giving examples of what he means by all men being equal, that we can all sit around the same table together, or we will all treat each other like brothers and sisters. This part of the speech shows you what his vision of freedom looks and feels like, and what it is to be “free at last”
ReplyDeleteIn Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I have A Dream...", the quote that speaks out to me the most is the entire last paragraph. "When we allow freedom to ring-when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, Free at last, Great god a-mighty, We are free at last"" The entire paragraph stands out to me because it seems like he's talking about equality for all. Not just African-Americans. I think that the main point that Dr. King is trying to make in this paragraph is that the civil rights movement is the first major step towards equality for all.
ReplyDeleteThe quote that speaks out the most to me is " Even though I face difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream." It shows that MLK persevered throughout his life and always gave his all. Even when people were against him, he kept believing. During this time, African Americans were treated unequally. Martin Luther King Jr. gave everyone hope that better times were coming soon.
ReplyDelete"We must forever conduct our struggle in the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone."
ReplyDeleteThis part of the speech stood out to me because it ties everything together. "We cannot walk alone." Yet 50 years later, we are still walking on different paths. 150 years later, we are not equal. I don't place blame on anyone....I place it on all of us. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. It was a glorious dream that perhaps may come true someday. But we ALL need to do our part to see it through.
Martin Luther King is an amazing man who many people look up to. I can't even express how thankful I am for him. It is because of him and many others, that this nation is where it is now. No, not all the racism is gone, but its significantly better! Blacks are free to live a normal life just like any other race. Martin Luther King knew that the world he was living in was crazy and not in God's plan. Him and many others had enough of the the segregation. It was time to stand up for what was right. One of the quotes that stood out to me in his amazing speech was "We will never be satisfied as long is the Negro is the victim of unspeakable horrors and police brutality". Enough is enough is what he was saying, and that they weren't going to stand for it anymore. "No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."
ReplyDelete"No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream"
ReplyDeleteThe "I Have a Dream" speech has many memorable and meaningful quotes filled in the text. In my opinion, this part of his speech is very powerful and moving because it expresses that there is some progress so far, but they will keep on marching forward until its equality for all. Determination and persistence to until equality for all exists.
to think that he thought of the i had a dream speech of the top of his head improvising. he was a man who seemed to truely have a dream. if he wasnt to say this during the speech where would civil rights be at today?
ReplyDelete