In 1968, Robert F. Kennedy traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana for a seemingly routine campaign stop. When he landed, he was given the news that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Given a short period of time, Robert F. Kennedy was able to compose one of the greatest speeches in history in five minutes.
I believe many people overlook the impact of this speech. Robert F. Kennedy was not given a lot of time to come up with a politically correct speech. Despite this, he was able to connect with his audience who were all americans. There were moments where he directly addressed black people but, the purpose of this speech was to unite the people and that is exactly what he did.
The persuasive intent of this speech was most likely to use …show more content…
Kennedy utilizes ethos in the most effective way in his speech by directly acknowledging the experience of black people. In the third paragraph he says, “For those of you who are black - considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge.” In my opinion, this is the single most important part of this speech. During this time, the black experience was not acknowledged. Black people were regarded as subhuman. SOme could argue, this opinion still stands today. By acknowledging the emotions that black people were feeling instead of brushing them off, he was able to get through to the black portion of the audience. He didn’t erode the black experience. He acknowledged the pain and plight. A lot of people make an effort to be “color blind” but, that only makes issues worse. Being able to practice “color blindness” is a benefit of white privilege. By validating their feelings, it gave him credibility as someone who is speaking to them with good intentions of peace and unity. This is an emotional appeal within the speech that works for me. Far too often, I find myself scoffing at the efforts of white politicians or people in general who pander to black audiences. This was not the case in this speech, it felt
I believe many people overlook the impact of this speech. Robert F. Kennedy was not given a lot of time to come up with a politically correct speech. Despite this, he was able to connect with his audience who were all americans. There were moments where he directly addressed black people but, the purpose of this speech was to unite the people and that is exactly what he did.
The persuasive intent of this speech was most likely to use …show more content…
Kennedy utilizes ethos in the most effective way in his speech by directly acknowledging the experience of black people. In the third paragraph he says, “For those of you who are black - considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge.” In my opinion, this is the single most important part of this speech. During this time, the black experience was not acknowledged. Black people were regarded as subhuman. SOme could argue, this opinion still stands today. By acknowledging the emotions that black people were feeling instead of brushing them off, he was able to get through to the black portion of the audience. He didn’t erode the black experience. He acknowledged the pain and plight. A lot of people make an effort to be “color blind” but, that only makes issues worse. Being able to practice “color blindness” is a benefit of white privilege. By validating their feelings, it gave him credibility as someone who is speaking to them with good intentions of peace and unity. This is an emotional appeal within the speech that works for me. Far too often, I find myself scoffing at the efforts of white politicians or people in general who pander to black audiences. This was not the case in this speech, it felt