ROS: A Question of Freedom for All Lesson
A Question of Freedom for All
Antigone bases her decision on the notion that divine imperatives supersede the rule of law developed by men. Her story from the mythological past poignantly points out a dilemma faced by our own democracy: When does our conscience or moral guidance overrule laws that seem unjust? Civil disobedience has an ancient history and has been used effectively to counteract tyrannical rulers and tyranny itself. However, the consequences very often have tragic outcomes as well.
One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.
- President John F. Kennedy, Civil Rights Address, June 11, 1963
This topic is not intended to be a history lesson on civil rights, but rather an investigation of how language and rhetoric formulated the ideas behind this movement. For instance, note how many times Kennedy repeats the variation of the word "free" in the quotation above. The crafting of the words is masterful in the allusions to the past, present, and future. The attention to the alliteration and repetition creates the sound of its delivery.
Listen to, read, and/or watch the following speeches by leading civil rights leaders of the 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s " I Have a Dream" may be the most recognized speech in American history, but study it closely to note where he inserts the rhetorical craftsmanship that you studied in Shakespeare. Read and listen to his other speeches. Then examine and hear the rhetoric utilized by a different perspective on racial inequality. There are two speeches by Malcolm X and one by Stokely Carmichael.
Assignment: "I Have a Dream" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Watch and listen to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
Listening and Reading Assignment: "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Listening Assignment: "The Battle or the Bullet" speech, Malcolm X
Click here to listen to Malcom X's "The Battle or the Bullet" speech. Links to an external site.
Listening Assignment: "Message to the Grassroots" speech, Malcolm X
Click here to listen to Malcolm X's "Message to the Grassroots" speech. Links to an external site.
Reading Assignment: "Black Power" by Stokely Carmichael
Click here to read "Black Power" by Stokely Carmichael. Links to an external site.
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