This picture, taken over the shoulder of the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, shows an interesting perspective of the 1963 March on Washington. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves in 1863, exactly one hundred years earlier. President Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 just days after the end of the Civil War, and although Constitutional amendments were passed that guaranteed rights to freed slaves, Jim Crow laws were soon passed throughout the South. This system of segregation guaranteed that white supremacy would continue to dominate southern society until the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s.

The most important figure in Civil Rights since President Lincoln himself, Dr. King gave his “I Have A Dream” Speech to more than 250,000 people. In this picture, Lincoln is looking down on King from a godlike position. By choosing the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as his location, King is indicating to his audience that he is fulfilling Lincoln’s ultimate goal of equality. However, King, like Lincoln, was also eventually assassinated before he could achieve that goal.

Black Panthers Visual Elements

There are numerous visual elements in this poster of the Ten Point Plan that help emphasize the message that the Black Panthers were trying to convey. First, the background of the poster is a bright orange color, designed to attract attention and show the urgency of the situation. In addition, there is a group of Black Panthers at the bottom giving black power salutes. This salute was a very powerful symbol that the audience would recognize and associate with the black power movement. Finally, the picture of the Black Panthers at the bottom is in black and white, alluding to the stark polarization of the racial situation in the United States in the late 1960s.

LOGICAL FALLACIES- Black Panther Party's Ten Point Plan

The most obvious logical fallacy that I noted after reading the Black Panther Party's Ten Point plan was the slippery slope fallacy. The slipper slope fallacy is based on the fear that once we are convinced by the argument even for just a moment, we are immediately overwhelmed by the metaphorical slippery slope and cannot stop for even a moment to consider alternative options or other viewpoints. I just believe that the demands made in the Ten Point plan were ultimately way too radical, and create a strong division between those who support the Ten Point plan and those against it, with little to no neutrality.

The goals and demands made by the Ten Point Plan were so radical at the time, that the division over the Black Panthers' ideals was quite inevitable. They used statements that demand things that even whites in America had not yet achieved, like full employment for all blacks, free health care, and exemption from military service. Also fact that the title of the guidelines that represent the ideals of the Black Panthers' has word "plan" immediately creates the connotation that these are something that will be implemented in the near future. After reading the plan, considering a possible implementation of these plans is beyond scary in the eye of the average white American in the 1960s. Then after seeing the party participating in multiple armed battles with the police, it was clear that the Black Panthers' were more than willing to take action. When the reader considers just how radical and threatening some of the statements are and the connotation of the word plan in the title it is obvious that you will become instantly against it, or passonately for it, so much so that you are willing to fight to protect these ideals; hence is why I view the arguement of the Black Panthers' as such a slippery slope.

THOMAS OUTING

Noah Becker

Visual Elements - MLK speech

Martin Luther King's speech takes place on the mall in Washington DC. His audience is enormous, and filled with people of varying race. In addition to the audience in front of him, there isi a huge audience watching the broadcast of the speech. This shows the huge support for racial equality from all races. Although this may not have been true in the south, it appears to be true in the northern states. Another very interesting visual aspect of MLK's speech was the Lincoln Memorial, which stands behind Martin Luther King. Lincoln began the movement towards racial equality by pushing hard and fighting a war for the liberation of the slaves. It is appropriate that his statue presides over the crowd and speaker as they continue the struggle for complete racial equality.

Audience Analysis - Black Panthers' Ten Point Plan

The Black Panther Party was a black nationalist and socialist organization. They wanted to start a revolution in America and change the way black people lived and were allowed to live. The audience of their Ten-Point Program was both black America and US government. They targeted urban black Americans to start an uprising. They wanted to build unrest in black communities to get them to take action. In order to get black people to rally around their message and join their fight, the Black Panthers Ten-Point Program ridiculed the many wrongs committed against blacks in America. However, the Program was also directed towards many white Americans because it made many demands of the US government which was dominated by white leadership. Ultimately, the Black Panthers wanted radical change in the US, and to achieve it they needed to be heard by all.

Audience Analysis- MLK

In this picture, Martin Luther King Jr. is shown addressing a large crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial. What do we know about this crowd? What could we gather from this picture?

It is hard to gather information on this crowd through the picture, but our knowledge of the March on Washington can easily lead us gathering the crowd's information.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s crowd had one thing in common that day: they all decided to congregate on a fairly hot day in Washington, DC, to hear an influential and moving man speak. For the most part, King's crowd was homogenous- although there were some whites in the crowd, the majority of the crowd consisted of people of color. Whether his crowd was colored or not, they all shared the same ideologies; they all believed in King's mission, and that is why they showed up that day.

The audience viewed Martin Luther King Jr. as a respected and dignified leader. He represented his crowd in many ways. King was an African American male fighting for freedom. His audience longed for freedom, and viewed King as a savior for the black community.

Overall, the audience expected a moving and influential speech, and they got it. The audience knew of King's mission and what he stood for, so therefore they were expecting a moving speech regarding the Civil Right's Movement.

Michael Fernandes

ETHOS- BLACK PANTHER PARTY'S TEN POINT PLAN

When it comes to ethos, and establishing credibility this was definitely not one of the black panther party's strong points. In their ten point plan they make several demands  that would benefit the millions of black Americans in the nation, which is only a minority of the nation. Because of this they are unable to establish much credibility by creating a bridge to their audience. The black panther's were mostly viewed as radical, rebellious, and a major public enemy of the American government. The black panther's ten point plan was full of seemingly ridiculous, nearly impossible to fufill demands, and their reputation for violence against any form of government authority truly distanced the party from any sense of trustworthiness or goodwill.

On the other hand the one group or audience that the black panther party's ten point plan was able to establish ethos in was the black community. The fact that the black panther's proved that they were willing to fight to death to stand up against racist police officials, created a tremendous amount of credibility for blacks in the bay area(Oakland), where the party was founded. The party went as far as arming citzens to monitor the behavior of racist cops. As an African-American citzen during the late 1960s this did nothing but create some sort of validation behind the demands made in the ten point plan, proving that if the claims in the plan were not met, action would be taken.

THOMAS OUTING

Logos - Black Panthers' Ten-Point Plan

     The Black Panthers made frequent appeals to logos in their Ten-Point plan, constantly asserting that black people were owed restitution for all of their suffering at the hands of white Americans throughout history. This is a logical argument because it is widely believed that those who commit transgressions must be brought to justice and/or repay their victims for their wrongdoing. 

     They first ask simply for freedom, which is a very justified request. They also plead for housing, employment, food, and justice. These are all reasonable demands because they are basic human rights and necessities. However, some of the Black Panthers' demands are extreme and unreasonable. They believed the government should repay the black communities in currency for the undeniable wrongs committed through slavery. While it makes sense that black people deserve justice for such a terrible crime, it is impossible to put a price on that crime, and it would be impractical for the US government to pay out such a price to every black person because there simply wouldn't be enough money. They demand an end to police brutality, which is fair, but they aim to achieve it by arming all black people with weapons. This is an irrational proposal because it would effectively create a black militia that could ultimately result in a nationwide race war, which would obviously be bad for everyone. Later, the Black Panthers demand the freedom of all black men in prisons and jails. This is, of course, ridiculous. While it is reasonable to assume that many black men were convicted because of their skin color, it is also undeniable that many black men did commit crimes worthy of imprisonment.

     At the end of their plan, the inclusion of an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence is an outstanding appeal to logos because it uses the words of white Americans in a treasured, patriotic document to justify the Black Panthers' fight for changes in the government and in American society, even going as far as saying it is not only their right but their duty to abolish an oppressive government. Ultimately, the Black Panthers made some good appeals to logos but they were inconsistent in making logically sound arguments.

Kairos - March on Washington picture

     Many might consider the March on Washington to be the most influential and most memorable event of the Civil Rights Movement, but a lot happened before Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed a huge crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.  The original March on Washington was planned in 1941 by A. Philip Randolph to protest discrimination and exclusion of African Americans from defense jobs. But this march was canceled when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order forbidding discrimination by defense contractors and establishing the Fair Employment Practices Committee. As unfair discrimination continued throughout the '40s and '50s, African Americans decided they'd had enough. Demonstrations took place across the country in the form of protests, sit-ins, and boycotts. For example, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955, leading to her arrest. Days later, the black community of Montgomery, Alabama backed Parks and began the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for 381 days. By the time he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, MLK himself had already been arrested and written his famous "Letter From a Birmingham Jail."

     More than 200,000 black and white Americans gathered on the National Mall at the culmination of the march in 1963. President John F. Kennedy had discouraged the march because he feared that legislators would vote against the proposed Civil Rights Act if they perceived a threat. Consequently, the organizers of the march aimed to keep the mood hopeful and positive by persuading John Lewis, another speaker at the march, to leave out his most harsh criticisms of the government. All of this set the scene for MLK to take the stage and deliver one of the most famous speeches in American history.

Martin Luther King's Speech - Pathos

In his speech, Martin Luther King appeals to emotions by basing his dream in the American Dream, a widely pursued goal of the audience and Americans overall. He also appeals to emotions by painting a picture of a society not flawed by racism and the unity that would exist there. Everyone has an intrinsic desire for a utopia. Martin Luther King uses that to make people desire to live in the world he dreams of. He also appeals to emotions by stressing the importance of nonviolence in the civil rights movement. This makes his argument easy to support because it promotes the value of peace along with his goal of equality. Lastly, he appeals to emotions by speaking of the children  and the suffering that they experience. This gains the support from the audience because people know that children are weak and could not protect themselves from racial oppression. This gives the people the desire to protect the children from this horrible treatment and support the movement towards racial equality.

Noah Becker

Logos is difficult to appeal to through a photograph, but the context behind the photograph can easily appeal to Logos. This famous picture, that of Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington, still stands as one of the most recognized pictures of the Civil Right’s Movement in the 1960’s. This picture says a lot, but the true logos can be found in the speech  he delivered when the picture was taken.

MLK’s “I have a Dream” speech, considered by many to be the most influential piece of rhetoric of the Civil Right’s Movement, appeals to logos in many different aspects. King Jr.’s internal consistency throughout the speech is incredible. He is able to start the speech by informing his audience what he is speaking for. He then states and defends his thesis throughout the entire speech. His words were consistent throughout, thus allowing for a powerful and influential speech.

MLK states the struggle of a Negro during his time toward the beginning of the speech and further elaborates on the struggles throughout his piece. He states the Negro struggles and backs them up with facts. His words appealed to the logical aspect of logos. Although people thought otherwise during his time, King’s argument that Negros should have been treated with more equality was extremely logical. Another aspect of his speech that was logical was the section where he stated all of his dreams.

With this speech, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to push for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His appeal to logos made it possible for everyone to realize that the equality of humans was logical and in fact possible.

Black Panther Pathos

Pathos, an emotional appeal to an audience, appears throughout "The Ten Point Plan," a document circulated in, "The Black Panther." In the 1960s,  the Black Panthers were a prominent Black advocacy group. In "The Ten Point Plan," the Black Panthers outline their goals for equality. Pathos appears in many different forms in the document. Incendiary vocabulary like, "oppressed" and "aggression" highlights a strategic use of Pathos to appeal to Black audiences. In addition, each time the document references personal pronouns like, "us" and "our people," Pathos appeals to it's respective audience in an attempt to distance itself from the segregationist establishment. In point #3, the authors use the word "robbery" to insinuate their oppressors are committing a crime in their actions against, "our black and oppressed communities." In #4, they state, we want "decent housing," appealing to their audience stating their housing "indecent." Additionally, in #5, they state they want decent education, another strong claim. Throughout the document, authors are extremely effective in their use of Pathos. 

Kairos - Black Panthers' Ten Point Plan

This document was written by the Black Panthers, a very radical group that was created during the civil rights movement. The Ten Point Plan expressed outrage at both the government and white people for their treatment of blacks. This anger had been built up for centuries, since whites first started mistreating blacks and especially since the government had been very slow about moving towards racial equality. The Ten Point Plan highlights racial inequality during this time period, such as inequality in the workplace, unfair treatment by police and unfair trials. During the civil rights movement, many blacks were brutalized and killed by police and unjustly convicted by biased juries. It was also extremely hard for blacks to find work, and even harder to find work that paid as well as many white people's jobs. The purpose of the Ten Point Plan was to push for racial equality and express the discontent of blacks with the current state of affairs.

Noah Becker

Stasis Theory- MLK's March on Washington photo

The stasis theory is typically defined as a four to five question process used to provide background on the issue and help the reader come to consensus on the arguement the writer is going to make. In this the blog the main comparison is the rhetorical appeal that Dr. Martin Luther King was able to create by leading one of the largest non-violent peace protests during the civil rights movement compared to the rhetoric of the more radical and demanding black panther party's ten point plan. 

The photo of Dr. King was taken during the historic March on Washington, moments before King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963. The march was called as a result of the continuing discrimination that blacks have faced in terms of equal treatment in the workforce, and to advocate for the passage of a new Civil Rights Act. The result of the march as seen in the photograph was over 200, 000 Americans gathering to hear a series of songs, speeches, and prayers from some of the most progressive leaders during the civil rights movement.

The fact of the matter is that in the photograph Martin Luther King's joyous and welcoming facial expression can be easily noted. Also the such a diverse crowd had gathered to hear King speak also speaks volumes. This photograph and my knowledge of this historic event prove to show that the reason for the immense amount of people that gathered in unity to fight for equality among races in our nation, would not have occured if it was not for the love, positivity, and peaceful that Dr. King showed. That sense of positivity and non-violent approach is likely why so many people were supportive of King's message, as opposed to the black panther party's ten point plan.

Thomas Outing

March on Washington Picture- Ethos

This picture is easily one of the most famous and viewed pictures of the Civil Right’s Movement and it displays an incredible amount of ethical appeal.

The location that this picture takes place in speaks for itself… The fact that a black man during the Civil Right’s Movement could present a speech at the Washington Memorial, a national monument, says a lot about the credibility of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Another aspect that appeals to credibility is the fact that the media is photographing King. This appeals to his credibility because these photos would eventually make the front page of almost every newspaper in America.

Along with the location and media, the crowd that is pictured in this photograph displays an incredible amount of credibility. The fact that there are hundreds of thousands of people witnessing this speech is an indication that Martin Luther King was a respected and credible man who had many followers.

Mike Fernandes