Category Popular speeches

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PHYSICAL COPY OFMARTIN LUTHER KING’S I ‘’HAVE A DREAM’’SPEECH?

African American civil rights activist Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream” emphasized the unrealised promise of economic freedom for black Americans – and the White House dreaded the consequences. The physical copy of this speech is widely regarded as one of the most influential documents in American history. Read on to discover the surprising journey of this historic document In the annals of history, August 28, 1963, stands as a pivotal moment-a day when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his timeless oration, “I Have a Dream,” to a crowd of nearly 2,50,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Little did anyone know, amidst the fervor of that day, that the physical copy of this iconic speech would embark on a journey of its own, passing through the hands of an unlikely guardian.

George Raveling’s brush with history As King concluded his speech and stepped away from the podium, he found himself face to face with George Raveling, a former Villanova University basketball player assigned to provide security. In a serendipitous moment, Raveling, moved by the speech, asked King if he could have the folded papers (that had the written oration). Without hesitation, King handed over the speech to the young volunteer, unaware of the significance of this exchange.

The speech finds its voice

For nearly two decades, the speech remained tucked away in a Harry Truman biography, as Raveling pursued his career in NCAA basketball coaching. It wasn’t until 1984, during a conversation with a journalist, that Raveling revealed his possession of the historic document. Prompted by the journalist’s interest, Raveling retrieved the speech and had it professionally framed.

Safeguarding a national treasure As Raveling began to grasp the importance of the speech, he decided to secure it in a bank vault in Los Angeles. Despite receiving lucrative offers from collectors, including a staggering $3 million bid in 2014, Raveling remained steadfast in his decision to preserve the speech’s integrity. Instead, he entrusted Villanova University with the responsibility of safeguarding this invaluable piece of history.

A homecoming

In August 2021, Villanova announced its role as the custodian of King’s speech, which made its public debut at the National Museum of African American History and Culture later that month. Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the march in Washington, the speech returned to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on August 7, 2023. This temporary exhibition provided an opportunity for visitors to connect with the speech’s profound impact on American history. As the world continues to cherish and commemorate King’s legacy, the physical copy of his iconic speech remains a poignant reminder of the power of words to inspire change and unite humanity.

DID YOU KNOW?

• It was actually gospel singer Mahalia Jaskson’s cry “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” that prompted King to improvise the line I have a dream.

• In 2003 Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words were inscribed into the spot where he gave the iconic speech.

Picture: Credit Google

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF TONI MORRISON’S NOBEL PRIZE SPEECH?

Toni Morrison was an acclaimed author whose literary works animated the experiences of black women wit power, humanity, humour, and poetry. Her compelling narratives and fresh vivid language transformed the world of countless readers and writers. Let’s look back at this academician’s 1993 acceptance speech for the nobel prize in literature.

In 1993, acclaimed African-American writer Toni Morrison created history by becoming the first black recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. She dedicated her life to crafting narratives that highlighted the experiences and realities of black women in America. The visionary force and poetic inputs that embellished her landmark speech on the occasion not only paid homage to her racial and cultural identity but also presented a critique of the use and misuse of language.

Fiction: educational or merely entertaining

Morisson began her speech by declaring that fiction is more than just entertainment. She expanded on her hypothesis by claiming that the oral traditions of storytelling bear evidence of the fact that narratives have always been a principal way we “acquire, hold and digest information”. Recalling how the most memorable sentence of one’s childhood is the phrase, ‘once upon a time she narrated a fable of the black blind clairvoyant woman and the dead bird to elaborate on how all the citizens of a nation are collectively responsible for creating an equal world that does not use language to discriminate, oppress or violate the minorities.

The vitality of language

She believed that the vitality of language lies in its attempt to describe what is actual, imagined and possible in the lives of its speakers, readers and writers. Referring back to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, she said ” language can never live up to life once and for all. Nor should it. Language can never “pin down” slavery, genocide, war. Nor should it year for the arrogance to be able to do so. Its force, its felicity is in its reach toward the ineffable… unmolested language surges toward knowledge, not its destruction…Word-work is sublime…it is generative; it makes meaning that secures our difference, our human difference – the way in which we are like no other life. We die. That may the meaning of life. But we do be language. That may be the measure of our lives.” (excerpt from the speech)

Key takeaways from the speech

1. We acquire, hold and digest information via narrative.

2. It is our responsibility to wield language to create a more equal world.

3. Language is the measure of our lives

DID YOU KNOW?

1. Toni Morisson was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford, but she changed it after she converted to catholicism.

2. Morisson was a college professor and an editor at Random House, before becoming a celebrated author.

3. Morisson was 39 years old when her debut novel The Bluest Eyes was published.

4. Morrison’s 1987 novel Beloved won a Pulitzer Prize.

5. Morrison was honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama.

6. The novelist’s birthday February 18 is celebrated as Toni Morrison Day in her home-state Ohio.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHO WAS THE SPEAKER OF TITLED SPEECH “I AM PREPARED TO DIE”?

“I Am Prepared to Die” is the name given to the three-hour speech given by Nelson Mandela on 20 April 1964 from the dock of the defendant at the Rivonia Trial. The speech is so titled because it ends with the words “it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die”.

April 20, 1964, saw Nelson Mandela, a 45-year-old member of the anti-apartheid movement, testify at the Pretoria courtroom as part of the Rivonia Trial. In his defence statement, the young lawyer declared that freedom and equality were the ideals for which he was prepared to die.

This speech became the rallying cry of the masses that shook the apartheid regime and set Mandela on the path to becoming the country’s first democratically elected president 30 years later.

Apartheid

Apartheid was the most extreme kind of racism that the world witnessed. It started from 1652 when the Dutch East India Company landed in the Cape of Good Hope and established a trading colony in what is now known as Cape Town. This was a rest stop for ships travelling between Europe and India.

The Dutch colonists went to war with the natives to establish their control. This ultimately led to the creation of a new set of laws to enslave the aboriginals. When the British took over the Cape colony, the descendants of the Dutch settlers trekked inland and developed their own language, culture, and customs eventually becoming the Afrikaners, the first white tribe of South Africa.

The fall of the British Empire saw the Afrikaners claim South Africa for themselves. But to sustain their supremacy over the country’s restless black majority, they needed new stringent laws. A formal commission was set up and an expedition was sent to different parts of the world including the Netherlands, Australia, and America with the purpose of studying institutionalised racism and its application. The government used this knowledge to build the most advanced version of racial oppression ever created.

Apartheid (means ‘apartness in African language) was a police state, a system of surveillance meant to keep the black people under control. This policy was in place for nearly 50 years.

The art of persuasion

Most leaders are known for their rhetoric. Philosopher Aristotle lays emphasis on the art of persuasion through speech in his treatise on the subject. According to the philosopher, the true means of introducing change in a society can only be accomplished by deliberative rhetoric. A deliberative speech focusses on the future rather than the past or the present. Here the speakers present their audience with a possible future and try to encourage them to lend their support to their vision.

What cements the appeal of this kind of persuasive speech is the use of ethos (credibility), logos (logic and reason), and pathos (emotional connect), and Mandela’s speech is an excellent example of this.

The appeal of Mandela

1 am the First Accused I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for several years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end of May 1961. (An excerpt from the speech “I am prepared to die”) By beginning his defence statement with an announcement of his educational qualification and contribution to the anti-apartheid movement, Mandela established his credibility. He took full responsibility for his actions and the disruption they led to. His demeanour exuded confidence in himself and in the cause he was fighting for.

“…The complaint of Africans, however,  is not only that they are poor and whites are rich, but that the laws which are made by the whites are designed to preserve this situation” (An excerpt from the speech “I am prepared to die”)

This part of the oration justified the need for a movement against a government that used racial segregation as a weapon to divide society. His sincere dedication to the struggle of the African people and his willingness to sacrifice himself for the fundamental principles of freedom and equality made him a man of mythical proportions.

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. (An excerpt from the speech 7 am prepared to die”)

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Mandela’s birth name was Rolihlahla Mandela. The name Nelson was given to him by his primary school teacher.
  • In August 1952, Mandela and Oliver Tambo established South Africa’s first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo.
  • July 18 is celebrated as Nelson Mandela International Day each year.
  • As the first black president of South Africa, Mandela took it upon himself to unite the country that had been divided along racial lines. According to him, sports like rugby promoted unity and fostered national pride.

Picture Credit : Google 

THE SPEECH THAT REMADE AMERICA

A self-taught lawyer, legislator, and a strong opponent of slavery, Abraham Lincoln is considered to be one of the greatest presidents of the U.S. Let’s relive the moment this American hero gave his monumental speech, popularly known as the “Gettysburg Address.”

On November 19, 1863, before an estimated 15,000 spectators President Abraham Lincoln dedicated a new soldiers National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. Here he delivered a 272-word speech famously known as the Gettysburg Address, with the hope that it would guide the Nation through the war and towards healing.

Civil War & the Republicans

The Republican Party came into existence in 1854, seven years before the Civil War. Initially there were only two political parties in the U.S. namely the Whigs and the Democrats.

America was quickly expanding westward and the debate as to whether or not the new states should permit slavery was intensifying.

In the Northern states, manufacturing and industries formed the economic base, unlike the South where people depended on plantation farming of crops like cotton and tobacco for their livelihood. Agriculture heavily depended on black slave labour, and the Democratic Party, with its strong support in the South, was growing increasingly pro-slavery. But the Whigs were divided on the issue.

In 1854, unable to come to a solid resolution on the topic. the party collapsed. The former Whigs in the North came together to form a new party called the Republican Party. with abolition of slavery as their mission statement.

By 1860. this party established a strong foothold in the North. enough so that its member Abraham Lincoln. won the 1861 presidential elections.

This led to 11 Southern states breaking away from the union to form the confederate states of America. The Northern states decided to fight to keep the union together and the Civil War began. The result was, victory for the North and abolition of slavery nation-wide.

The Battle of Gettysburg

One of the bloodiest battles fought during the American Civil War took place in Gettysburg from 1st to 3rd July 1863. It claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers from both sides. The union’s victory here marked a turning point of the war, which officially ended in 1865.

The Address & The Greek Influence

According to literary research done on this piece, Lincoln’s elegiac speech at Gettysburg was modelled on the ancient Greek politician and general Pericles’ epitaphios logos (Athenian funeral speech). Even though his address was brief (in comparison to the Greek format), he still successfully managed to encapsulate the essential reference to the circle of life (as birth, death, and rebirth).

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” (excerpt from Gettysburg Address)

The Gettysburg Address begins with a recollection of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the birth of America. It alludes to the struggles of the founding fathers who built this nation on the principles of universal equality and freedom.

Paying his homage to the deceased, he then proceeds to declare that the thousands lost to death on this battlefield have replenished the American soil with their selfless sacrifice. This sacrifice has not only prolonged the nation’s life, but also presented it with a fair chance of renewal.

Lincoln further reinforces the idea of rebirth when he says that this second chance must not be taken for granted, but incentivise us to work together “that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (excerpt from the Gettysburg Address)

Beacon of hope

With the struggle of war at its climax Lincoln’s speech was a beacon of hope for the thousands who were gripped by the feeling of impending doom. It revived the national ideals of freedom, and justice amid circumstances that had torn the country into pieces.

Since delivered this speech in particular has gone on to become one of the most powerful statements in the English language. Its brevity and intelligent word play has enabled it to cement its place as one of the most important expressions of liberty and equality.

DID YOU KNOW?

1. While giving this iconic speech the President was interrupted five times with the audiences’ applause.

2. Edward Everett (the featured speaker for the event) immediately afterward wrote to Lincoln: “I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes.”

Picture Credit : Google