On April 4, 1967, King addressed a crowd of 3,000 in Riverside Church by delivering a speech titled, “Beyond Vietnam,” in the midst of the cruelty of the Vietnam War. Despite criticism from speaking out about things other than civil rights, King uses syntax, rhetorical strategies, and appeals to explain why he has chosen to speak out on Vietnam because of the following reasons: how the war is an enemy of the poor, how it is a cruel manipulation of the poor, how it is for the sake of the poor, government, and others, and how it is related to his religious duties.
While doing so he also reveals his purpose, which is to move his audience to challenge the Vietnam War through means of protest and questioning the need for the war..
King’s first…