WRA-130 Ellie Jensen

They begin by addressing the location at Washington D.C. under the Lincoln monument, where, when he was in office, slavery became illegal in the United States. The speech's introduction begins with a powerful reminder that the black community has overcome throughout generations in this nation, however, MLK addresses that they are still, in his words, crippled. He emphasizes that both black and white men have the right to the life liberty and the pursuit of happiness as written out in our constitution.

Almost as a passive warning because MLK was not about retaliating with violence he forewarns his audience members that there will be even more so, disruption and instability without the true equality of all men. This may be a difficult situation but it is key to push forward as a nation and to not look back. The way this speech is structured is clever in the sense the audience is already enthralled with the situation and the hype of the body population at this event he engages more passion by already listing positive events such as the liberation of black people in general and then to attract the masses even more so he notes how powerful citizens as a whole are enough to change the current situation.

Placing power in the lap of the audience is engaging in the sense they now feel they have purpose and a physical duty to uphold. It draws emotion and specifically for this speech MLK almost makes his audience feel responsible for certain actions which are all incumbent signs of a so called attention getter. This speech goes down in history as one of the most prominent speeches in American Culture. Influenced by a man that had a similar dream to thousands of followers to Washington. This speech will not be forgotten. This is a beacon to prove that words can be more influential than violence and why finding a common ground with your audience is so key to powerful words and impactful pieces.