I have a dream martin luther king ppt

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I HAVE A DREAM” SPEECH

WORKSHEET INSTRUCTIONS:

Instructions: As a preamble to the speech, students are to read the Remembering MLK PPT, as well as read the brief PDF “Montgomery Bus Boycott and a Young Dr. King” in order to answer a series of preliminary questions. Afterwards, students are to

1. Listen to the speech (link provided in You Tube)

1. Access and read the speech transcript at this link: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

1. Answer the remaining questions requiring an analysis of and reflection upon this eloquent and powerful speech.

From the PPT and PDF:

PPT and PDF question A: Who was Michael King, Jr.? Who was Martin Luther?

My answer:

PPT and PDF question B: Describe “Christian agape.” Be sure to also emphasize what it is not.

My answer:

PPT and PDF question C: What is your understanding of the “Hebrew prophetic tradition”? In responding, what do you imagine might be the role/function of a “prophetic voice” in human society?

My answer:

PPT and PDF question D: Briefly describe two key teachings from India—satyagraha and ahimsa—espoused and interwoven in Gandhi’s practice of nonviolent resistance.

My answer:

PPT and PDF question E: Think about Erich Fromm’s observation that “loving is a very demanding activity.” Describe your reaction to this particular emphasis.

My answer:

PPT and PDF question F: There are several slides with excerpts taken from Gandhi’s “Nonviolence in Peace and War.” What did Gandhi write about attitudes and tactics when we are faced with “an unjust law [that is itself a species of violence]”? What did he advise?

My answer:

PPT and PDF question G: Which advocate of the American Transcendental Movement of New England in the mid-1800’s is also noted for writing Civil Disobedience?

My answer:

PPT and PDF question H: Comment on 2-3 of the “10 Commandments” as part of the training for the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) Birmingham Campaign Volunteers. In your remarks address briefly the part MLK’s Christianity factored into the Civil Rights movement, and his sense of the morality and “righteousness” of the cause of freedom.

My answer:

PPT and PDF question I: Who was Rosa Parks?

My answer:

PPT and PDF question J: In brief interview excerpts between Dr. King and Martin Agronsky and Frank McGee, what concerns did Dr. King share about the fledgling movement and about the boycott in particular? How do you understand King’s emphasis on taking and holding the “moral high ground”?

My answer:

PDF reflection question K: King spoke of redemptive suffering and living for a cause for which one is ultimately willing to die. What are you most passionate about in your life? Does your passion / vision / sense of vocation have any religious and/or social component? Explain.

My answer:

The “I Have a Dream” speech

1. To whom is Martin Luther King referring to when he mentions “five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation”?

1. While a great beacon of light, why do you suppose the Emancipation Proclamation did not produce the desired effect—emancipation—for which it was intended?

1. It is “pay day.” When King speaks about cashing a check, what analogy is he making? Name a number of the promises that have come due to be “collected.”

1. King refers to “this hallowed spot.” What is this sacred place? How might this place be part of America’s “civil religion”?

1. King sends a warning to his people informed by the principles and teachings of of India’s great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who led his people to independence from the British in 1947. Connected to his warning, what did Gandhi advocate in India that King advocated in the US?

1. As a master orator and preacher, King used vivid imagery evoking the Hebrew prophets (like Amos 5:24); cadence, and the repetition of themes. Find several key metaphors and symbols used and patterns of repetition employed throughout the “I Have a Dream” speech.

1. List a few of the horrors and humiliations, the “trials and tribulations” to which African-Americans had been subjected.

1. What will ultimately satisfy King and all who seek full citizen/civil rights? (Hint: it’s a reference from the Hebrew prophets.)

1. What do you think King meant when he said, “Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive”? What attitude or response might he be supporting (for instance, a general religious or specifically Christian concept of suffering)?

1. King said his dream was deeply rooted in the American Dream. How do you think he interpreted the American dream, based on specific references within his speech?

THINK PIECE:

1. Is King’s dream realistic, and can it be actualized? Or, is it an other-worldly dream based on religious idealism? Explain your position, and in doing so, consider the power of speech as motivation and inspiration for social reform and change.

1. Assuming it is possible to actualize, how do we “keep the dream alive”? What further steps need to be taken, especially to ensure our First Amendment rights of free religious expression, free speech, free press, and the right to peaceful assembly? (especially in an era / political-social climate with sectors heavily advocating for Second Amendment rights?

Optional help/Digging Deeper references and notes:

A helpful glossary: http://www.thekingcenter.org/glossary-nonviolence

An excellent resource to learn more about “rhetoric” http://www.arsrhetorica.net/gaines/style.html

King referred to then Alabama Governor George Wallace. Wallace, King suggested, fiercely adopted a “hands off” policy to protect the state’s rights to govern itself, in effect, enforcing “Jim Crow,” and carte blanche doing whatever it pleased with impunity, acting without censure, or interference from the federal government.

This is an excellent article by Byron Williams on the “cyclical” pattern of interposition and nullification in—compared to Europe—the relatively young America. Notes Williams,

Interposition refers to the right of the states to protect their interests from federal violation deemed by those states to be dangerous or unconstitutional. Nullification is the theory that states can invalidate federal law it considers unconstitutional.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/byron-williams/the-cyclical-history-of-i_b_480070.html

Southern Poverty Law Center: fighting hate https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate