The public was inspired by the word choices of these three works of literature. Robert F. Kennedy's "Statement on the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." "I Have a Dream" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged African Americans and others to band together and fight against inequality without using force. On April 4, 1968, civil rights activist Robert F. Kennedy delivered an inspirational speech to the people of Indianapolis, intending to elicit empathy and an emotional response. In addition, in the "Statement on the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," he states, "Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s, known for works such as "I Have a Dream" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail." These pieces of work contributed tremendously to the civil rights movement, which helped inspire people to make their contributions. For example, in "I Have a Dream," paragraph 3 states, "But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free." One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination." Dr. King portrays a negative picture of what happens to people of color by using words like "unfortunately crippled," "chains of discrimination," and "manacles of segregation." This causes the audience to sympathize with Dr. Kings, allowing them to connect with his speech. For instance, in Dr. King’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," paragraph 4, he states, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We are entangled in an unbreakable web of mutuality, bound together in a single garment of destiny.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used words like injustice, entangled, and unbreakable to motivate the public to unite and