Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most powerful preachers of the sixties. Not only was he a civil rights activist but he was a preacher of the gospel, called by God. He was a voice crying in the wilderness like John the Baptist with a message of jobs, freedom, and an end of racism in the United States. He was prolific in using words that grabbed the attention of his audience. His manner in which he put words together gave even more meaning to what he was attempting to say. Using poetry and scripture, he could give words a richer meaning. Words like “who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice”, ”lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”, “a check which has come back marked insufficient funds”, “a state sweltering with the heat of injustice”. Hearing these words more fifty years later continues to sends chills through the body of the listening audience. …show more content…
It grabs the attention of the audience for sure. This method of speaking is often used by preachers and it is used frequently in the African American church among African American preachers. This persuasive type of speaking captivates the audience. The eloquent voice of Dr. King when he said “I have a dream” gave hope to the listening audience that in spite of the current situation, Dr. King believed that a brighter day was ahead. Can you imagine how into the speech the audience must have been by the time Dr. King reached the sixth “I have a dream”? The same holds true when he reached the point of his message where he states “let freedom ring.” Again, by the time he finished the ninth “let freedom ring”, that someone in the listening crowd felt within themselves that freedom was on the