RHETORICAL AND GENRE ANALYSIS OF TWO STYLES OF COUMMUNICATION USED DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century succeeded in achieving major progress in reducing racial inequality and segregation across the country, but as the ongoing racial strife that characterizes life in early 21st century America demonstrates, it is clear that the movements work is not yet complete. Nevertheless, it is also apparent that the foundational efforts by civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer were responsible for the substantial progress that has been made over the past 70 years. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparison of the rhetorical and genre analysis of two different styles of communication that were used by these two activists during the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement to determine how both the audience and the genres affected those communication strategies to make them more effective. Following this analysis, the paper provides a summary of the research and important findings concerning these two civil rights activists in the conclusion.

Martin Luther Kings I Have a Dream Speech

By any measure, Kings speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, had a profound and lasting impact on American society and the Civil Rights Movement. While Kings speech would have lasting impact, the purpose of the March on Washington was modest enough, even by the standards of the day. For instance, according to one historian, The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans (McCurtis 3). Even the most die-hard segregationists of the day, though, were forced to sit up and take notice when Kings compelling oratory boomed across the National Mall from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I have a dream, he proclaimed, and what followed was a series of declarations that blacks and whites must learn to live in harmony because, in reality, there is no viable alternative.

For example, King began his speech with the admonition that despite the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation a full century before, The life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. In an apparent attempt to immediately grab and hold the attention of rich whites who were responsible for Jim Crow as well as those whites who were largely disinterested in civil rights unless their pocketbooks were involved, King concluded that, So we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. It is reasonable to suggest that this last remark succeeded as an attention-getter and helped King achieve his purpose in making this speech.

The overarching purpose of King's speech was to use the March on Washington as an opportunity to make the case for racial equality and justice, especially with respect to the rights of African Americans (Godwin et al. 2011). In this regard, Josiah and Oghenero report that, The speech is about the failed promises by the Americans whose dream advocates equality for all (43). The main argument made by King throughout this speech was that the United States had failed to deliver on its constitutional promises of freedom and equality for all its citizens. Further, King argued that racial segregation and discrimination were not only unjust, it was far past the time for America to...…stressing the urgency and fundamental necessity of change in the United States (Cox 140).

The genre of Hamer's testimony was a personal narrative which was delivered during the Democratic National Convention. Her speech aimed to raise awareness and evoke empathy from the audience at the DNC, as well as to influence political decision-making through her televised remarks. It is especially noteworthy that while then President Lyndon B. Johnson was tolerant of Kings rhetoric, he was less confident having someone like Hamer testify about her real experiences in the Old South and quickly scheduled an impromptu press conference to divert the nations attention away from her testimony. Nevertheless, the powerful nature of her testimony, combined with her compelling firsthand accounts, created a persuasive case for the need for social and political change. In other words, Hamers testimony had a significant and lasting impact on the Civil Rights Movement and the push for equitable voting rights legislation (Clabough 180).

Unlike Kings speech and overall efforts were directed at effecting changes in the entire nation, Hamer advocated for equal rights on a regional level through her work with various civil rights groups throughout the South, ad her main contributions to the Civil Rights Movement took place in Mississippi (Clabough 180). In both cases, though, King and Hamer used highly effective communication techniques to engage their respective audiences and make their arguments compelling. In addition, they both used emotional appeal, vivid imagery, and personal anecdotes to engage with their audience and to evoke a sense of urgency and empathy. The genre of each text plays a crucial role in shaping the rhetorical strategy employed, as the oratory of King's speech aims to inspire and mobilize, while Hamer's personal testimony before the DNC sought to inform the body politic and to elicit empathy for…