POLI-330N Week 3 Assignment: Analyzing Body Language - Assignment Graded An A

Martin Luther King Jr's speech of "I had a dream" in essence states a list of racial injustices amongst the African American people in the United States and encourages everyone to hold their country accountable. Dr. King ...

Martin Luther King Jr's speech of "I had a dream" in essence states a list of racial injustices amongst the African American people in the United States and encourages everyone to hold their country accountable. Dr. King highlights that the Emancipation Proclamation, at the time, was signed over a hundred years ago to free the slaves. However, the African Americans during 1963 were theoretically still not free in the bigger picture due to "segregations and chain of discrimination" (Martin Luther King Jr.,1963). Dr. King then proceeds to mention all of his dreams for the nation. His ultimate dream is for black Americans and white Americans to live peacefully in one nation without violence or racisms. He dreams that all states in the south wash away their bigotry state of mind and learn to live with their fellow black American neighbors. Equally important, Alicia Garza's speech for black lives was just as moving and inspirational as Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech. Garza boldly states that Black lives have not mattered in the United States or around the world. The speech consists of evidence-based statistical facts about how black lives are underserved and live with an unfair advantage compared to other races in the United States. Garza backs up her theories but states that the confederate flag is still the state symbol of Mississippi. Garza's speech then proceeds to focus on domestic and agricultural workers. She explains that domestic and agricultural work has been rooted and outlined by slavery. Garza also states that those workers are the only ones without the protection of a union or labor protection and, therefore, "living in the shadow of our democracy" (Alicia Garza, 2015). Ultimately, Garza's speech strives to bring awareness of the ongoing unjustness among domestic employees. Both Alicia Garza's speech and Martin Luther King Jr's speech were moving; however, both had very distinctly different tactics to capture the audience's attention. For starters, Martin Luther King Jr had a grand audience in a massive national park. He stood behind a podium that was purposely located in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue in D.C. Dr. King's setting had more meaning and symbolism than can be put into words, emphasizing the speech he gave. On the other hand, Alicia Garza gave her speech in an auditorium as she walked back and forth on the stage. Both Alicia Garza and Martin Luther King Jr seem to have great charisma towards their audience. This was noted by the number of applauses and chants given by the audience. They both knew how to ensure that their message was resonating with their audience. The passion that Martin Luther King Jr had was unmatchable. The multitude who attended Martin Luther King Jr's speech felt the strength in his voice, his fury, and composure. Alicia Garza also had passion, but she was soft-spoken and not easily relatable as Martin Luther King Jr. As I briefly stated above, the location where Martin Luther King Jr and Alicia Garza decided to give their speech is incomparable. Martin Luther King Jr was a known pastor and activist where he needed the right venue to guarantee his audience would soak up the value and meaning of speech the most. Martin Luther King Jr. chose to give his speech in Washington DC, not Alabama, where he initially was from. As we know, Washington DC is the capital of Congress. Washington DC is where the President of the United States lives and where those in power manifest the constitution of the United States. Martin Luther King Jr chose to give a speech in the Lincoln Memorial located in Washington DC. The Lincoln Memorial symbolizes Abraham Lincoln's belief in the freedom and dignity of all people, and it was no coincidence that Martin Luther King Jr. decided to give the most powerful speech in the most symbolic place of the United States. In comparison to Alicia Garza, she chose to give her speech to a much smaller audience and in an enclosed auditorium. Relying on today's social networking method and social media to have more avenues to relay a message does take away from the message itself. It is never as impactful to hear a message from the source directly than to hear a message from your phone. Although the message never changes, the way that people perceive that message gets tainted by who is relaying the message and where it is coming from. The University of the People states that "Social media and internet interactions offer a veil between the person sending the person receiving the message. These interactions are no longer face to face, and this can lead to some unfiltered conversations as people feel they can say anything with no repercussion". I have to agree with that statement because I feel that there is a certain amount of respect lost when we rely on other avenues to convey a message. The audience and Dr. King's speech relate to the audience and that Alicia Garza had in the sense that each audience says were present because of a moment. Both audiences believed in a cause that needed action and a reasonable solution. I see more differences than similarities in the speech is that Martin Luther King Jr and Alicia Garza gave. I will believe that both speeches were centered on the injustices that black African-American have in the United States. However, Martin Luther King Jr's speech gave hope and faith to those in the audience and even those who heard the speech years after it was given. In my opinion, Alicia Garza's speech highlights the negativity surrounding black African-Americans with little to no space of providing hope to her audience. Garza did inspire perseverance in her speech, but it was not as impactful or relatable as Dr. King's speech. Both Martin Luther King Jr and Alicia Garza stood behind a social movement and “social movements require, as we have seen, a set of grievances, resources to form and sustain organization, a supportive environment, and a sense of political efficacy...” (Greenberg and Page, 2018). There message surrounding black African-American rights have those exact requirements as stated in order to create impactful movement. Reference Greenberg, Edward, and Benjamin Page. “Social Movement.” Revel for The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 Elections and Updates Edition, 12th ed., Pearson, 2018, pp. 200–23. “I Have a Dream Speech by Martin Luther King .Jr HD (Subtitled).” YouTube, 7 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s. Lewison, Kiera. “How Has Social Media Affected Communication: Facts That Surprise!” University of the People, 7 Jan. 2021, www.uopeople.edu/blog/how-social-media- affected-communication. “RadTalks: Alicia Garza.” YouTube, 11 Aug. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cniRNj6m0-A.