Analyzing Body Language

Speech Summary

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Junior’s speech delivered in Washington in 1963 delves into the injustices faced by Black American people in the US and the hope for equality in the future. He begins almost every sentence in his speech with an “I have a dream” phrase to express his aspirations for the African American community. Among other issues, Martin Luther expresses a desire for equal opportunity for the black child to study and thrive regardless of their skin color. Martin Luther emphasizes that America can attain collective prosperity only if there is equality across all races (Rare Facts, 2017): Analyzing Body Language.

Alicia Garza

Alicia Garza, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, talks about the inherent discrimination against black people in American society. From the outset, Garza begins her speech by leveraging statistics to illustrate the discrimination against black people, including disproportionate incarceration, law enforcement murders against black people, and remuneration disparity between black women and their white counterparts. Outside of American borders, Alicia addresses the injustices faced by black women, including the worrying trend of black women being forced to work as domestic workers without consent. In light of these and other injustices, Alicia Garza justifies the existence of the BLM movement (Center for Constitutional Rights, 2015).

Comparing the Speeches

Both Martin Luther and Alicia address the structural inequality facing Black Americans in the US. Although the speeches were delivered almost half a century apart, both speakers address the same issue, an indication that the problem persists. A striking similarity between the two speeches is the passion with which Alicia and Martin Luther delivered them. Both are soft-spoken to connect with their audiences and ensure they comprehend the message.

However, the style of delivery differs in the two speeches. A notable difference is how Martin Luther maintains eye contact with his audience, unlike Alicia who is occasionally distracted as she refers to her computer. Martin connects with the audience as he speaks passionately about his quest for freedom amid cheers from them (Kilag et al., 2023). Alicia’s inability to engage the audience is evidenced by the sparse and rare cheers.

Location of the Speeches

While Martin Luther King delivered his speech at the Lincoln Memorial to a multitude of 250,000 people who attended a March in Washington, Alicia Garza’s speech was delivered in a small hall. To that end, most of Martin Luther’s audiences could not see but only hear him. As a result, he exploits his tone to connect with his audiences (Kilag et al., 2023).

On the other hand, Alicia Garza’s audience could read her emotions; hence, she relies on gestures and facial expressions to engage the audience (Kilag et al., 2023). The two activists connect with their audiences in a way that could not be achieved if the speeches were to be delivered virtually. In a virtual setting, the audience does not connect emotionally with a speaker. It becomes hard to express compassion and be passionate when addressing an audience through social media networking platforms.

Differences in Speeches and the Audiences

Martin Luther King Jr. and Alicia Garza are presumably addressing the Black American demographic because their speeches highlight structural injustices and discrimination against the demographic. Nonetheless, Alicia Garza’s speech appears narrow because she only addresses matters concerning the BLM movement by mentioning a few statistical facts. For his part, King paints the whole picture of the difficulties that Black Americans undergo without referring to any specific civil rights movement (Greenberg et al., 2020). Although Black Americans are the primary focus of the speeches, White Americans are also targeted because they have to understand the discrimination their black counterparts undergo if equality is to be achieved.

References

Center for Constitutional Rights. (2015, August 11). RadTalks: Alicia Garza. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cniRNj6m0-A

Greenberg, E. S., Page, B. I., Doherty, D., Minkoff, S., & Ryan, J. M. (2020). Struggle for democracy, 2018 elections and updates edition (12th ed.). Pearson.

Kilag, O. K. T., Quimada, G. M., Contado, M. B., Macapobre, H. E., Rabi, J. I. I. A., & Peras, C. C. (2023). The use of body language in public speaking. Science and Education, 4(1), 393-406. https://paper.researchbib.com/view/paper/372500

Rare Facts. (2017). I have a dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s

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