Malcolm X Ethos Pathos Logos

America has been fighting for civil rights since it first started. In the mid 1900s a movement was created that helped blacks gain civil rights. Three of the major civil rights activists were John F. Kenedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. All three of these leaders used parallelism, logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade their audience. I believe that Martin Luther King Jr. was more persuasive than John F. Kennedy and Malcolm X because he could connect with what colored people were going through and he took a nonviolent approach. Martin Luther King Jr or Dr. King was a black, baptist minister who became a leader for the civil rights movement. In April of 1963 Dr. King was sent to jail in Birmingham Alabama. While he was in jail he wrote

In this speech Dr. King is not only able to connect with the audience but use that connection to build his argument. Also by the time he said this speech he had built a pretty big following. He starts the speech by referring to Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation. He talks about how Lincoln fought to bring rights to colored people and a hundred years later those rights have been basically stripped away again. He uses the phrase “one hundred years later,” over and over again to show that even though a lot of time has passed there is still very little change to the civil rights of colored people. Dr. King also mentions that the constitution says that “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” If all men are equal that means that colored people should not be treated like that and are inferior to white people because they were created equal. He uses repetition again in his speech when he repeats the phrase “We can never be satisfied.” Dr. King uses this phrase to show the people that colored people will not be stopped until they are given equal rights. Then, he uses repetition again when he talks about the different dreams he has. He uses the phrase “I have a dream” to show the listener what he wants accomplished. His final use of repetition in this speech is at the end when he uses the phrase “Let freedom ring” to let the audience know that he wants freedom for everyone in the

Kennedy was the president of the United States from 1961-63. In Kennedy’s Inaugural Address he talked about what he thought was needed to help the civil rights movement. Kennedy thought a more peaceful approach was better. In the beginning of this speech he uses the repetition of the word “to,” to show the audience who the United States will try to help. Then he uses the phrase “Let both sides” over and over again to show that we need to be peaceful. He writes about how if both sides fight and fight it will only lead to war but if they take a step back and listen to the other side and try to negotiate they will come to an agreement. Then at the end of his speech Kennedy says the famous words, “ask not what your country can do for- - - ask what you can do for your country.” This shows us that Kennedy thought that the best way to help colored people gain civil rights was for the individual to peacefully protest what they needed and not to just rely on the country. Although Kennedy wanted everything to stay peaceful there was another leader that thought violence was one of the only ways to help the civil rights