Martin Luther King, Jr. the Dreamer: The Power Invoked by Dreaming in Black Literature and Culture Open Access
Ocean, Christina (Spring 2020)
Abstract
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom gathered Americans from all over the U.S. to protest racial discrimination and demand economic freedom at the nation’s capital on August 28, 1963. Approximately a quarter of a million protesters, most of whom were African Americans, gathered at the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. making the protest “the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of [the] nation.” Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the most anticipated speaker at the March. King composed each of his speeches carefully, making sure every word, every illustration, every idea was communicated in the most effective way possible; thus as a speaker and writer, King felt it taking a stance as a dreamer was the most effective way to bring forth his message. His dream was the medium he used to encourage the crowd to continue their fight for freedom with reassurance that they would live in a greater and freer America. It might appear to some that King is more of an optimist than a dreamer, just a wishful thinker who thought it would be grand if America was a great nation where everyone, regardless of background, lived together in mutual respect. King’s dream is largely seen as a metaphor or trope of freedom and equality instead a lived experience. This paper analyzes dream testimonies from the WPA’ slave narratives and other published slave narratives then applies these findings to selected pieces of black literature and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………1.
Chapter 1: African American Dreams………………………9.
Chapter 2: Dreams as a Writer’s Literary Tool……….39.
Chapter 3: “I Have a Dream”…………………………………47.
Work Cited……………………………………………………………55.
Appendix………………………………………………………………60.
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