¶ … special occasion speech, topic Tribute Speech, focus honor achievements virtues individual. It link past virtues achievements to present times encouraging listeners continue similar struggles embrace values admire. Tribute speech:

In honor of Fraser Robinson III, First Lady Michelle Obama's father

Attention-getter: The nation has honored the great accomplishments of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama. But another, often forgotten hero of the First Family is that of Fraser Robinson III, Michelle Obama's late father.

Although Fraser Robinson III never held political office, his actions supporting his family were heroic.

Preview: During a time of discrimination, when prejudice against African-Americans was still a common part of everyday American life and culture, Fraser Robinson worked hard to cope with a debilitating illness, multiple sclerosis (MS), and still managed to provide for his family and send his children to Ivy League schools.

BODY

I. Fraser Robinson overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to support his family.

A. Fraser Robinson was born in 1935 in Chicago, a time when discrimination was still common against African-Americans.

1. The United States Army was still not yet integrated.

2. Jim Crow held sway in many sections of the nation;...

"Fraser was a pump worker for the city of Chicago. He tended the boilers at a water-filtration plant" ("Fraser Robinson," Life in spite of MS, 2008).
2. Robinson never missed a day of work ("Fraser Robinson," Life in spite of MS, 2008).

II. Robinson's accomplishment is especially impressive, given the fact that he had been afflicted with multiple sclerosis (MS) since he was a young man

A. Michelle Obama credits her father's dedication inspired her to continue, undaunted, despite the obstacles she faced in her own life.

1. Michelle Obama remembered her father going to work using two canes to walk ("Fraser Robinson," Life in spite of MS, 2008).

2. According to Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson, despite their father's physical frailty and his illness, Fraser Robinson was "a man that you desperately did not want to disappoint' (Coffey 2008: 2).

B: Despite the pain and suffering that he experienced, Fraser Robinson still gave back to his community and family.

1. He was active in local politics: serving as Democratic Precinct Captain for the local chapter of the public worker's union ("Fraser Robinson," Life in…