On August 28, 1963, when Martin Luther said the words "I Have a Dream" people listened, not just the blacks, but everyone. He has one thing on his mind and that is to stop segregation and give the same freedom to everyone. He is not fighting for just the freedom of blacks but for the freedom of all mankind. He is a very courageous man that stands up for what he believes in that is why I decided to pick his "I Have a Dream Speech" to write on. Martin Luther King's main claim is that blacks are being treated improperly and that they need the same freedoms as the whites. He gave the speech in Washington D.C., at a demonstration by two hundred thousand people for civil rights for African Americans. He was hoping that this speech would open people's eyes to what was going on and possibly would spark a change. .
To start the argument he makes a great point by saying five scores ago America signed the Emancipation Proclamation, "but one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free"(Rottenburg, 706). I think this was a great way to start his speech and argument because it really made me stop and think about what he was saying and I know it had the same effect on others as well. The reason it made me stop and question things that are going on is because of the quote he used. It would have been different if he just started off with just his opinion, but he started off with a fact of this country that was not upheld. Things were supposed to change after the Emancipation Proclamation, but they didn't and Martin Luther had no problem letting people know that. This is definitely an appeal to our value of freedom. What is freedom if not everyone is treated the same and equally? I just don't understand why our country would sign the Emancipation Proclamation but still continue slavery and the mistreatment of black people. It was almost like they were trying to fool the citizens of America by saying things had changed when they really hadn't or hadn't even begun to.
