Rhetorical Strategies Used In President Obama's Controversial Speech

It was March 18, 2008 and tensions were high as Obama stepped onto the stage. During the course of the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination, controversial remarks were made by Jeremiah Wright, President Obama’s pastor and participant in his campaign. An audience had gathered at the National Convention center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to hear Obama’s response to the concervential remarks. Obama took the opportunity to address the larger problem of race in the United States, focusing on key matters such as racial tension and white privilege. This speech is aimed to calm the fear of the white community, after the upsetting remarks made by Jeremiah Wright, and to continue to empower the African-American community. Obama's use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos allowed for him to …show more content…
The topic of race evokes strong emotions due to past events; Obama’s use of events in his speech is to provide evidence and support. He explains how our society has a history of racism through the evidence of slavery. Though we have made large strides as a society, racism is still prevalent in our world today. The statement, “And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care or education or the need to find good jobs for every American" (4), is used to appeal to emotions by giving up the power to change these problems in America, prompting action. “This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children” (7), this phrase also appeals to emotion as he talks about children of all ethnicities and what is getting in the way for a successful future, children are often used as a way to gain sympathy from the