Hello, and welcome to our blog. We are scholars students at the University of Maryland, College Park and we are writing to inform you about the different uses of rhetoric as a tool in fighting the Civil Rights Movement. As scholars students taking English 101S we are very experienced writers and are very familiar with the concept of rhetoric. For our blog, we chose to write about the Civil Rights Movement because the movement is still relevant today, so we wanted to allow readers to gain a deeper understanding of it so they can make their own connections to today’s fight for equal rights. The texts we have chosen to write about are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Malcolm X’s “Ballot or the Bullet” speech. We chose these speeches because even though they were both speeches made during the sixties to address civil rights issues, the particular techniques used to make their points are different. In our blog we compare and contrast the methods used by these activists.
Despite different backgrounds and ideologies both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. passionately argued for the destruction of institutional racism and oppression against African-Americans in the United States. Both called for immediate action, arguing that if changes are not made soon then the country would be torn apart by racial violence, tension and hatred. Both speeches were delivered at critical points in the civil rights movement when racial tension had reached its peak and leadership was required to organize the movement towards racial equality. Our blog chronicles the rhetorical appeals made by MLK and Malcolm X and shows how the two speeches examine the same issue from vastly different viewpoints.
The two speeches are extremely relevant to the readers of this day. The readers being English 101 scholars have most likely had a lot of experience with the era of the civil rights in their English and history classes, especially with King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The two speeches are still relevant to this day, as the “black lives matter” movement intertwines with the ideas brought upon with both speeches. It is also relevant to this group because most, if not all freshmen are 18. They now have the ability to vote, which is what Malcolm X emphasizes in his speech to use discreetly. The points in his speech can still be referred to even now in this day in age, as the 2016 election is coming soon, and knowing whom to vote for is important.
The Format in which we decided to write the blog posts was by initially putting up our analysis of the kairos of the two speeches as well as the stasis theory of the two after. We started with the kairos analysis because we believed it was important to establish the rhetorical setting of the speech at the time, and the events going on during that time. This way, the reader will not be confused as to why the speech is taking place. The stasis theory is important in establishing the main argument of each of the speakers. The audience analysis is crucial to start off with as well, as it helps the reader understand whom the speaker is talking to in their speech. Next, we decided add in the pathos, ethos, and logos (though not necessarily in that order). Since we already established the background and broad idea of the speeches, it is then time to delve into the more cryptic parts of the speech with the three appeals. We started with ethos because we believed that establishing the credibility of the speakers is important before delving into their emotion or reasoning. It helps the reader gain a sense of belief in their claims, as they know their credentials. Finally, we chose to do pathos and logos as our final two analyses. The order isn’t important since we believed that one could argue points for why to start or end with any of the two. Overall, in Layman’s terms, we decided to establish the “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, and “why” before tackling the “how” of the two speeches.
We are challenged by the racial divide every day of our lives. The work of Malcolm X and MLK, while substantial is far from complete. Call to mind Treyvon Martin, Eric Garner, the savage riots in Baltimore. Realize that mainstream media is trying to separate us, by constantly focusing on the hate. They will only show the most violent parts of Black Lives Matter movement, while censoring the mission of peace that movement seeks to achieve. Do not let them fool you into thinking the racial gap is unbridgeable. The more we are scared, the more likely we will lash out. We need to call to mind both Malcolm X and MLK, who have achieved more progress in the racial divide in america than anyone before or since. We need to look to them and take some of their faith, so we can shake of this fear being poured into our minds everyday on the news.
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