The speech was delivered by Martin Luther King during the march in Washington in 1963. Dr. King’s performance is considered to be one of the most famous speeches in American history. Martin Luther King used commonly known universal topics to display the injustice black people faced in the US as well as to show their struggle for freedom, independence, and equality. Dr King begins almost every sentence in his talk with the phrase “I have a dream” (Rare Facts, n.d.). Repeating this phrase, the speaker expressed hope that one day black and white American people will have equal rights, and all children will have the opportunities to study and become respectful people. Apart from that, Martin Luther King stressed that only when all Americans are treated with respect despite the color of their skin, the US society will thrive and prosper.
Summary of Alice Garza’s Speech on the Black Lives Matter Movement
Alice Garza is a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and she knows everything about the discrimination black people face in American society. She starts her speech by providing some statistics, such as the number of black people imprisoned, murdered by law enforcement forces or the ratio of black women’s salaries compared with the ones of white people (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2021). Throughout the talk, Alice Garza displays the challenges and injustice black people face, proving that the Black Lives Matter Movement is extremely important for eliminating inequality.
Alice Garza’s talk shows that black people still face discrimination in the US and throughout the whole world, in general. She gives examples of mostly black women who are forced to work as domestic workers, often without their consent. The video also addresses the fact that black people’s children are often regarded by the police and government officials as further criminals (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2021). The speech stresses the importance of acknowledging black people’s rights and claims that the Black Lives Matter movement is a demand for all people to value humanity and treat all people equally and respectfully despite the color of their skin.
The Speakers’ Manner of Delivering the Talk
Both speeches address the same issue that concerns the inequality that exists in the US society when it comes to the rights of black and white people. Martin Luther King’s speech was delivered more than fifty years ago, but Alicia Garza’s one proves that not much has changed since the twentieth century. When speaking about the similarities of the speakers’ manners of explaining their points of view, it is worth mentioning that both of them speak slowly and passionately in order to let the audience feel what they say.
Though the speeches share the topic, the speakers’ manners of delivering their messages differ. Thus, Martin Luther King tends to have more eye contact with the audience, which ensures better understanding and compassion. What is more, he tries to improvise and gives a lot of examples from his personal experience. Alicia Garza, on the contrary, does not have much eye contact with the listeners and does not provide almost any personal examples apart from a story of her sister at the end of the speech.
The Connection between the Location of the Speeches and Messaging
The speeches were delivered in different conditions due to the huge time gap between them. The major difference that concerns the location relates to the number of listeners and their opportunity to see the speaker, his gestures, as well as to feel his emotions. Martin Luther King’s speech was delivered during a march in Washington in which participated more than two hundred fifty thousand people. Due to the great number of listeners, the majority of them did not have a chance to see the speaker, which is important for building the emotional connection between the speaker and the audience. Alicia Garza’s speech, on the contrary, was delivered in a relatively small hall where all people could see her and her emotions and gestures. Different locations both speeches were made enabled the speakers to act differently. Thus Martin Luther King was to emotionally influence the audience mostly by the text of his talk and the tone of his voice, while Alicia Garza could rely on the gestures and facial expression as well.
The Target Audience of the Two Speeches
Since both talks have the displaying of inequality and injustice in terms of the attitude of the society towards black people, it is possible to state that the target audiences of the speeches coincide. However, Alicia Garcia’s talk is more narrowly oriented because it gives information mainly on the Black Lives Matter movement she established through mentioning some common statistical facts. Martin Luther King’s speech, on the contrary, is aimed at displaying the whole picture of the difficulties and challenges black people face in the US without targeting any particular movement or organization. It seems that the audiences of the two speeches coincide because both talks give a wide picture of the inequality between white and black people in American society. The speeches, however, target not only black Americans but the white as well because they need to see and understand what emotions black people feel when facing prejudices and unjust treatment.
References
Center for Constitutional Rights (2021). RadTalks: Alicia Garza [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Rare Facts (n.d.). I have a dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr. HD (subtitled) [Video]. YouTube. Web.
