History always repeats itself.

If we look into one of the problems that has caused the most
injustice towards black people, the problem of black people’s civil rights, we can say that it's
been around for a while.

But this does not mean that these people just sat idly in the face of these problems throughout
history. To take a look at one of the examples, we can examine one of their most significant
moves made with one of the defenders of black community, Martin Luther King.
Martin Luther King’s “freedom speech” was a milestone for black community’s cause of justice
towards their history of racism and slavery.

To learn about who he is first, we should take a short look at his life. He is a black activist that
is one, discriminated against and offended by the government just like his intended audience -
making him sympathetic- and two, has the credibility gained from his works that made his
ideas grow its roots in peoples’ hearts. Spreading awareness and educating people of this
cause made him the face of this resistance. Him being a character as such, enabled him to use
this respected identity as Ethos.

In his speech, his Pathos was the aim to invigorate their passion for the cause of justice /
equality. He repeatedly asked and asked: “I have a dream” to wake the community of their
slumber of acceptance and ask for their share in a place of dignity and level headedness with a
rhetorical device called anaphora. He also utilized another device -metanoia- to repeatedly
make their discontent with the current situation and their purpose clear.

He bases his claims into logical basis, with Logos, he talks about the history of the nation and
the founders writing and signing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He
makes the listeners ask: Why have we been kept exempt from the promises made before? It's
our right too. The analogy is explained with metaphors such as banks and checks, rivers and
such to engage the audience’s attention more intently with both emotional and logical
principles and reinforces his claims.

It is a perfectly written and executed speech by M. L. King to reflect the past sufferings and
future hopes of black community with the iconic phrase: “I have a dream”. He uses his position
and the place where the speech was held as symbolic movements made with thoughts to
influence and resist the problems and injustices of the period in his own civilized way.

Derya Guler - 190565060