"So is a revamping of Exodus, or a later chapter of the Exodus." "He tries to cast it in the arc of this great historical narrative and elevate the American civil rights movement to parallel Exodus," Miller said of the speech's scriptural leanings. "King is using the Bible to argue against segregation." The Bible is this very, very authoritative document in the minds of millions and millions of people," Miller said. "The country, especially at this time, was very Judeo-Christian. "These political documents were forged so that we have a system of sustainability that outlined humanity, but also the political rights that have been given to all of God's children." "He's saying, 'Hey, this is the rhetoric upon which our country was founded,' Kennerson-Baty said. "He's incorporating these other voices that are more or less unimpeachable." "He's appealing to the most sacred touchstones that there are in the United States," he told. King pulled phrases from the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation and even the song "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" to drive his points home, Miller said. In the speech, King incorporated quotations from patriotic and religious documents to put the struggle of racial inequality "in the context of the great principles of American history," said Keith Miller, an associate professor of English at Arizona State University, whose research focuses on the rhetoric and songs of the civil rights movement.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |