'I Have a Dream' speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.

About the 'I Have a Dream' speech.

The purpose of the speech was to send the message to the American government and the white people to stop the racial discrimination and the social injustice on the African-Americans. The speech clearly states that the African-Americans also wanted equal rights and opportunity in reality and not just in words as stated in the promissory note of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. It helped a lot to stop the racial discrimination. It really showed that the Negros are human beings too and it showed the Whites that Negros have gone through too much of pain and suffering. It was basically to tell everyone and to show everyone that he meant business. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that non-violence was the way to go and this speech with thousands of people watching it seriously showed that it was time for a change. It was a message of hope and Martin Luther King, Jr. hoped that blacks and whites could live amongst each other in peace.

The speech had dramatic shifts in tone such as from enraged to cautionary to hopeful. I find the speech to be quite sarcastic at certain points. Overall, the speech was eloquent, passionate, intellectual, persuasive and honest.

The interesting major feature(s) which I can see from the speech are:-
i.) Repetition of phrases such as “I have a dream”. This phrase was mentioned eight times throughout the speech.
Repetition of phrases such as “one hundred years later”. This phrase was mentioned four times throughout the speech.
Repetition of phrases such as “now is the time”. This phrase was mentioned three times in the speech.
Repetition of phrases such as “free at last!”. This phrase was mentioned three times in the speech.
Repetition of phrases such as “be satisfied”. This phrase was mentioned five times in the speech.
Repetition of the word, “negro”. This word was mentioned fifteen times throughout the speech.
Repetition of the word, “free”. This word was mentioned twenty four times throughout the speech.
Repetition of the word, “freedom”. This word was mentioned nineteen times throughout the speech.

ii.) emphasis on certain things said.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. states that after a hundred years later, the blacks are still oppressed and marginalised by the whites by emphasizing on the phrase, “one hundred years later”.
- Strong words like ‘manacles’ and ‘chains’ were used to depict the sufferings of the blacks. Their ancestors were once slaves and they were chained and manacled. These words have connotative meanings and are used to show that the blacks were denied social justice and are tied to poverty.
- The phrase, “the bank of justice is bankrupt” is quite sarcastic and funny.
- “Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children.”
By making that statement, he wants the blacks to be given equal treatment and equal opportunities as the whites.
- “In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
By making that statement, he is telling all the blacks that the struggle for equality must be done in a peaceful way without using any force as it could spur racial tension.
- “Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s statement above might suggest that many of the black audiences were just released from prisons and lockups. Maybe many of them were released on bail. Meanwhile, the second sentence shows that the many of the blacks were suffering from police brutality where they were beaten up badly.
- “There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
By making the statement above, he is saying that the blacks will never stop fighting for their rights until they are granted equal rights as the whites.
- "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
By making that statement, he means that all human being are equal in god’s eyes and should be given equal treatment.

From the background of the speech, I learned that many black people were marginalized and were denied of social justice and equal rights. Many of the blacks were jobless and they were suffering from poverty at that time. They were fighting for their rights and they wanted it urgently because they were tolerating this situation for more than a hundred years. From it, I also learnt that many of the blacks were suffering from police brutality where they were beaten up badly. They were thrown into lockups and prisons. They felt that all human being are equal in god’s eyes and should be given equal treatment. From the background of the speech, I also learnt that the blacks will never stop fighting for their rights until they were granted equal rights as the whites.

The audio-visual on the 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he has become a human rights icon. King is recognized as a martyr by two Christian churches. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr. )

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he has become a human rights icon. King is recognized as a martyr by two Christian churches. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr. )

Benefits of using speeches by famous figures, in the classroom.

The benefits of using speeches by famous figures, in the classroom are:-

a.) Speeches by famous figures are normally well prepared, free of grammatical errors and proofread many times before they are finalized. So these speech texts are suitable to be used in the classroom.

b.) Speeches by famous figures are normally persuasive speech. Therefore, if students read more of this type of speech, they can learn the techniques of persuasive speech and apply this particular skill in their real life.

c.) Speeches by famous figures normally reflect higher level of critical thinking skills. Therefore, if such speeches are used in the classroom, it might sharpen the critical thinking skills of the students.

Biopoem for Langston Hughes

Langston

brave, intelligent, creative and wonderful

Son of James Nathaniel Hughes and Carrie (Caroline) Mercer Langston

Lover of poetry, jazz and equality

Who feels upset with racism, hates slavery, despises marginalization

Who gives hope, inspiration and realisation

Who fears slavery, lynching and exploitation

Who would like to see justice, freedom and equality for all

Who lived in Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C., United States

Hughes

Langston Hughes and His Poetry

Comments about the poem Harlem

It is about the unequal treatment among the blacks and the whites. The blacks are marginalized and they are treated like second class citizens. In 1951–the year of the poem's publication–frustration characterized the mood of American blacks. The Civil War in the previous century had liberated them from slavery and federal laws had granted them the right to vote, the right to own property and so on. However, continuing prejudice against blacks, as well as laws passed since the Civil War, relegated them to second-class citizenship. Consequently, blacks had to attend poorly equipped segregated schools and settle for menial jobs as porters, ditch-diggers, servants, shoeshine boys and so on. In many states, blacks could not use the same public facilities as whites including restrooms, restaurants, theaters and parks. Access to other facilities such as buses, required them to take a back seat, literally, to whites. By the mid-Twentieth Century, their frustration with inferior status became a powder keg and the fuse was burning. Hughes well understood what the future held, as he indicates in the last line of the poem.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution–approved in the post-Civil War era–granted black Americans basic rights as American citizens, as did the Civil Rights Act of 1875. However, court and legislative decisions later emasculated the legal protection of blacks. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1896 (Plessy v. Ferguson) that it was legal to provide "separate but equal" accommodations for passengers of Louisiana's railroads. This ruling set a precedent that led to segregated schools, restaurants, parks, libraries and so on. Meanwhile, hate groups inflicted inhuman treatment on innocent blacks including brutal beatings. Lynchings of innocent blacks were not uncommon. Many so-called "enlightened" or "liberal-minded" Americans looked the other way, including law-enforcement officers, clergymen, politicians and ordinary Americans. By the mid-20th Century, black frustration with white oppression formed itself into a potent blasting powder.
( http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/harlem.html )

YOUTUBE VIDEOS ON THE POEM HARLEM

"Dinner Guest: Me" by Langston Hughes is full of irony and sarcasm

"Dinner Guest: Me" by Langston Hughes is full of irony and sarcasm because of the following lines:-

Stanza 1, Line 1 & 2

I know I am

The Negro Problem

Stanza 1, Line 9, 10 & 11

Of darkness U.S.A.--

Wondering how things got this way

In current democratic night,

Stanza 1, Line 14

"I'm so ashamed of being white."

I personally think that this poem is about Langston Hughes being invited to a fancy restaurant by a white person and the two of them were discussing race. You can tell by the way he says 'Asked the usual questions' and how the white person is embarrassed to be white. A black person in a fancy restaurant was a big deal back in those days. Not only do they have to wait for service in the restaurant but their discussion is about the answer to race relations and in the end of the poem he says; the answer to the problem is to wait.

( http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dinner-guest-me/ )

The dilemma Langston Hughes conveys through the poem CROSS

This poem explores the deepest emotions and troubles of a young man born into a world of confusion. He is confused by his heritage but arrogant in his pride. He is growing up in the whirl of a white society, and cannot decide whether he is white or black. Hughes, using a black mother and white father, completely makes it easy for the reader to understand and almost foreshadow where this poem is going. It is evident that there is an inner sense of not belonging in this child. In line three through eight, it is clear that the child is sorry for all the pain he has brought on to his parents, unknowingly. He shows remorse for all the curses and bad wishes he said to his parents, now that they are dead. But this is all because of a bigger problem. Now that his parents are both dead, he has no one to turn to, to help him figure out what his is. He can’t seem to figure out whether he is going to die in riches or rags. This is the great dilemma Hughes presents to the reader and leaving the audience in query to this unanswerable question. He cannot seem to find any truth in himself whatsoever, this child is and forever will be lost in his own identity. Hughes uses this boy’s struggles symbolically, not to show the pressures of a “crossed” child but rather to show how we as a society stereotype the races. The white father dying in a fine house whereas the mother dies in a shack, depicts the common view of the white race as being a more upscale and richer society and the black culture oppressed in poverty and forever bound to the slums of the world.
( http://www.freeessays.cc/db/37/pya274.shtml )

The universal experience gained from Iroquois:The Girl Who Was Not Satisfied With Simple Things

This is a universal experience across all country, society, race and religion because no matter how much people get of something, they want more and more. Some of them are very greedy and they are not thankful or grateful to god and the people around them. In relation to the real life, the people nowadays are very materialistic. No matter how much they earn, they are still not satisfied with what they have and they always want more and more! Another example which I can relate to is some people are not satisfied with their marriage life so they end up having extra marital affairs. Referring to the story, the girl was deceived by the handsome outlooks of the man who turns out to be one of the horned serpents. We can use this story to teach our students to be grateful and be satisfied with the simple things they have. They need to appreciate their god, parents, teachers and etc. for the things they have given to them. They also need to learn that having something is better than having nothing! For example, having an old bicycle is better than having none. Other than the above, another moral value from the story is not to trust someone based on their looks because they might have bad intentions. They look good from the outside but they are bad inside.

Feminist poems

The feminist issues raised by Erica Jong in her poems are sex-positive issues, gender difference, gender bias, patriarchy and oppression of women, male dominance in love and family relationship, gender equality for women and women's rights and interests.

I think that they are not suitable to be taught at the secondary school level because her works are sexually explicit and it might corrupt the young minds. However, her works are suitable for adult audiences. Erica Jong is an American woman and she has been married four times. Her works reflects her thoughts and her community’s culture. Some issues discussed in her poems and other literary works are taboo in the eastern culture. Therefore, they are not suitable for our eastern culture and her literary works cannot be taught at the secondary school level.

Hilary Tham is a local Malaysian writer. Therefore, her poems are more suitable for our eastern culture and they can be taught at the secondary school level because the use of language in her poems are more moderate and her poems often deals with common female issues.

Canon for Malaysian literary works

I think that the recipients of the national literary scholar awards (anugerah sasterawan negara) are in the list of Malaysian literary canon. The recipients of the awards are listed below:-

1. 1981 : Kamaluddin Muhamad (Keris Mas)

2. 1982 : Dato' Shahnon Ahmad

3. 1983 : Datuk Dr. Usman Awang

4. 1986 : Datuk A. Samad Said

5. 1988 : Muhammad Dahlan bin Abdul Biang (Arena Wati)

6. 1991 : Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh

7. 1993 : Datuk Noordin Hasan

8. 1996 : Datuk Abdullah Hussain

9. 2001 : S. Othman Kelantan

10. 2009 : Dr. Anwar Ridhwan

The recipients who have produced Malaysian literature in English, some titles and the category of their works are listed below:-

1981 : Kamaluddin Muhamad (Keris Mas)

a.) Jungle of Hope

1983 : Datuk Dr. Usman Awang

a.) Mother’s grave (poem)

b.) Father Utih (poem)

c.) Little Girl (poem)

1986 : Datuk A. Samad Said

a.) The Dead Crow (poem)

1991 : Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh

a.) words for father (poem)

b.) on a dry bund (poem)

c.) three beserah fishermen (poem)

d.) seeds (poem)

e.) the traveller (poem)

f. ) si tenggang’s homecoming

The recipients whose literary work are being used in the school’s textbooks are as below:-

Malay literature

1982 : Dato' Shahnon Ahmad

a.) Gelungnya Terpokah (short story) for SPM level

1991 : Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh

a.) Anak Global (poem) for SPM level

English literature

1981 : Kamaluddin Muhamad (Keris Mas)

a.) Jungle of Hope (novel) for SPM level (Form 5)

1986 : Datuk A. Samad Said

a.) The Dead Crow (poem) for PMR level (Form 1)

1991 : Prof. Dr. Muhammad Haji Salleh

a.) si tenggang’s homecoming (poem) for SPM level (Form 4)

YOUTUBE VIDEO