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Martin Luther King Jr.: The African-American Civil Rights Movement

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Martin Luther King Jr. spent his days fighting for the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Knowing the dangers of those who oppose him, King travels to Memphis, Tennessee to deliver “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech to the sanitary workers. In his speech, King utilizes words with heavy connotation and paralipsis, as well as several others, in order to unite the people and proclaim nonviolence rebellion.
Martin Luther King Jr. begins by alluding to the Bible before the crowd in order to make his message more relatable and clarify his objective; saying, “I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch God’s children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promise land.” He continues using repetition to rally the people and affirm his support, saying, “I wouldn’t stop there,” when referring to places and times that he could go to help the cause. Instead, King expresses that he would rather stay in present, stating “that only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars,” giving the sanitary workers hope that change is impending.
Next, King emphasises how far the African-American civil rights movement …show more content…

King goes on giving the power to the people, preaching “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, That we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” Then next day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, leaving have inspired his audience to take action in a nonviolent

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