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The Truth Behind Martin Luther King's Speech

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The Truth Behind The Speech In the spring of 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. made a trip to Memphis, Tennessee to support the sanitation workers who were on strike. The night on April 3 King gave his speech at the Mason Temple Church. As usual many people gathered to listen to the great words he spoke, but at the time they did not know what later events were to occur (History.com Staff). The next day at six p.m. as the great Martin Luther King stood on a second floor balcony of a motel, he was shot in the neck by a sniper (Assassination of MLK). Immediately after the fact they dispatched him straight to the hospital. To everyone's disbelief an hour after reaching the hospital he was pronounced dead. At the age of 39, King was able to touch many lives and help better the world, his life may not have been long, but he served a great purpose (History.com Staff). Robert F. Kennedy who at the time was running to be elected as president, made plans for a campaign speech in Indianapolis, Indiana. Once Kennedy’s plane landed in Indy they heard word of King’s assassination. Many mayors and other people urged him to cancel his speech in fear of race riots occurring. Kennedy chose to go against the odds and deliver his speech changing …show more content…

Kennedy has many good uses of pathos all throughout his speech. He brings many emotions alive, but by far the one that is brought to life the most is when he says, “I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.” You can sense the sadness that he felt when he spoke in front of all those people. As for logos Kennedy has plenty, he is clearly informing the people about the death of MLK. When he says “Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings.” This gives the idea of what is going on and is extremely informative on the subject. The ethos behind the speech is Kennedy’s running for president at the time of King’s

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