“Our march is not yet finished”: A Historical Analysis of Civil Rights Literature
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Abstract
This thesis examines four speeches on Civil Rights: Booker T Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise,” Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream,” Malcolm X’s “The Black Revolution,” and Barack Obama’s remarks at the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. This paper seeks to provide a vivid exploration of the historical Civil Rights movement by exploring these speeches’ requests for action, consideration of the audience members, and rhetorical devices. It draws conclusions about the way that the Civil Rights movement has changed and developed throughout American history, from the late 1800s when Jim Crow Laws were in full swing, to 2017, when our first African American president ended his second and final term.
Honors Thesis Committee
Gloria Jones, Ph.D.; Leslie Bickford, Ph.D.; and Sherell Fuller, Ph.D.
Start Date
21-4-2017 3:15 PM
“Our march is not yet finished”: A Historical Analysis of Civil Rights Literature
DiGiorgio Campus Center, Room 221
This thesis examines four speeches on Civil Rights: Booker T Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise,” Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream,” Malcolm X’s “The Black Revolution,” and Barack Obama’s remarks at the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. This paper seeks to provide a vivid exploration of the historical Civil Rights movement by exploring these speeches’ requests for action, consideration of the audience members, and rhetorical devices. It draws conclusions about the way that the Civil Rights movement has changed and developed throughout American history, from the late 1800s when Jim Crow Laws were in full swing, to 2017, when our first African American president ended his second and final term.
