On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made one of the greatest and most powerful speeches at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered at a very dark time in history, where minorities were struggling to find their equality and fight segregation and discrimination in America. King delivered a speech filled with hope and visions for the future for the black community and helped them pursue their nonviolent civil rights movement. Dr. King incorporates historical references and rhetorical devices, such as repetition, to make this speech more influential. Researching the civil rights movement, other events occurring at the same time period, and different types of civil right activists provides further understanding of the speech and its effects on the audience.

A powerful tool Dr. King used was making historical references to make his point stand out in his speech. We see this in the first part of his speech when he refers to the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation was a document signed by Abraham Lincoln that declared all slaves in the south were free. Dr. King used this specific reference to point out to the audience that slavery was abolished on January 1st, 1863, which was one hundred years ago. In his speech, he continues to say "But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free" (MLK). These words had an eye opening effect on the audience because it made them realize that even though over 100 years and a century has passed, African Americans and other minorities still have not achieved equality. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in 1863, blacks were still not free and there were obvious signs of inequality and unfair treatment. They were still not allowed to go to school with white people, eat at white restaurants, drink out of the same water fountains, sit in certain areas with white people, and plenty more examples of obvious segregation. Dr. King's speech made it clear that he didn't want blacks to just be free; he wanted to be equal, in all ways. Hand not having skin color be a barrier. 

Dr. King used other rhetorical devices such as repetition. The most obvious example of repetition is "I have a dream". He uses this to tell the audience of his many dreams that he envisions for United States of America when everyone is equal. This is a smart phrase to repeat, because it touches on the fact that everyone in the audience has some sort of dream for the future. King is sharing his personal dreams and they are very simple, realistic dreams. He profoundly declares "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" (MLK). This dream is attainable and gives the audience a feeling that if everyone unites and works together, this dream is achievable. Another phrase he repeats is "one hundred years later" in the first part of the speech. This shows the audience that it is ridiculous that after one hundred years of American's achieving great and remarkable things, minorities, who have in many ways personally contributed to such things, somehow still don't have equal rights.

After King's speech, America responded quickly and effectively. The black community started to amp up their protests and became stronger in numbers. MLK's face and words were everywhere as a constant reminder of the future of equality. He was a non-violent activist, so all the protests that were conducted had less aggression and the communities all worked together to achieve the same goal. Everyone knew that after the "I Have a Dream" speech there would not be instant results but it was now possible with someone leading them in a peaceful and positive way. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech and dreams made the idea of equality much more tangible. In his speech, he dreams that "one day right here in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers" (MLK). This gives parents hope that if they fight for equality in their country that one day their children will be friends with children of other races and not care what color their skin is. It gives everyone a dream that two races can come together and not look at each other and not only see skin. After some time, white people started to come around to the idea of equality for all skin color and started to protest with them. This was a huge step in making America better because it showed that the communities were starting to come together, not start wars against other communities. 

 Dr. King also refers to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and the great men who signed it "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" (MLK). At this point in the speech, he specifically directs his speech to the white community. He desires to make them realize that America is becoming increasingly worse the longer racism and unequal treatment are tolerated. The two documents mentioned previously are what the United States of America was built on, and he pointed out its doctrines were not being upheld, making it clear that things needed to change. Dr. King's solution to the racism, segregation, and discrimination was that the white community needed to make the change because they are the ones who are oppressing everyone else and it is their responsibility to become accepting of other communities. Even though when the speech was given the audience was a majority of black people, this speech was intended for a larger audience. He prevailed in attempting to reach that audience, as the speech drew the attention of many different types of people. Asian-Americans, Europeans, and religious groups all turned their ears to his powerful statements, and the inspiring words delivered the intended impact. But aside from reaching the minorities, he believed it was incredibly crucial and important to also reach the entire white community. He believed that once the white community got involved and helped make a change, racism would no longer be an issue.

Martin Luther King Jr. impacted so many people's lives with his "I Have a Dream" speech. He used historical references and strong repetition to prove his point and make his motives clear. He was one of the strongest, well-known civil rights activists who made a change and improved race relationships in America. Dr. King tried to prevent violent acts and wanted to spread his ideology that all people should come together and work as one rather than working against each other to achieve something. The civil rights leader was assassinated years later after another activist speech. His powerful "I Have a Dream" speech as well as many others, and his assassination created a huge response by his audience. The civil rights movement gained momentum exponentially and grew stronger for years to come.  The civil rights movement was the largest movement in American history, all brought on by a man and his dream. 

