Today is the 59th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s immortal speech. We’re still learning from it.
Aside from its enormous place in American and world history, it is an oratorical masterpiece, and aside from its social impact and its spiritual lineage of principled leadership for nonviolent resistance (Christ, Thoreau, Gandhi, King, Mandela), it is – from a leadership communications point of view – one of the most remarkable speeches in American history – or in the English language, for that matter. There is good reason I used this speech as the cornerstone of my graduate-level executive communications courses I taught for 15 years at Fairleigh Dickinson University. None of us, I averred, would likely rise to this level, but all of us should aspire to it. Here’s what made it so great.
Symbolism
Standing before the austere statue of Abraham Lincoln, Dr. King began, "Five score years ago..." Repeatedly referencing that and other ideals – Lincoln's Gettysburg Address ("this hallowed spot"), the Declaration of Independence ("life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"), and "America" ("Let freedom ring") – he laid justifiable claim, by both Blacks and Whites, to equal ownership of these principles – once and for all.
Literary style
The rich lode of metaphors in the first few paragraphs – “seared in the flames of withering injustice,” “…the manacles of segregation and the chains of injustice,” “…a lonely island of poverty amidst a vast ocean of material prosperity” – rival those of Coleridge and Shakespeare. This is brilliant writing, great literature. Dr. King started delivering elements of this speech as much as two years before, road testing it in rural churches and urban centers, building toward what he ultimately delivered in Washington, DC. It worked on the road, and it worked on the biggest of all stages.
Rhythmic, lyrical repetition
Leonard Bernstein described the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as being written in “blunt, simple statements of the greatest possible force.” Da-da-da-dum! A powerful four-syllable phrase, repeated until it was indelible and eternally identifiable. Dr. King got it: "Now is the time," "Let freedom ring," and "I have a dream" are exactly that. They are powerful, memorable communication devices.
Vision
Dr. King showed incredible restraint when he said, "There is something I must say to my people..." and then laid out the plan for progress through nonviolence. Simultaneously, and with equal potency, he announced to the rest of America and the world that nonviolence did not mean submission. You can almost see the visage of Mahatma Gandhi over Martin Luther King's shoulder as he issued that tenet (King had visited Gandhi’s ashram in Ahmedabad only four years earlier).
Focus
He insisted on exposing the South, naming most of the southern states as the target of this effort, but undoubtedly not as the limit of it.
The power of unity
"With this faith,” he projected, “we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together..." A quarter million people – Black and White, old and young – were now cheering wildly, even at the suggestion of going to jail together. This was the hinge point of the speech, proof that all had signed on. Feedback is essential to good persuasion; that’s what happened right there.
Seamlessness
He skillfully transitioned from the responsibility he called for to the rewards all could anticipate, saying, "This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, 'My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.'”
Inclusion
Dr. King made the rightful claim that each person owns as much of "let freedom ring," “four score,” and “life, liberty…” as anyone else. These are not proprietary. In fact, he repeated "let freedom ring" more times than the most memorable keynote of the speech, "I have a dream."
Understanding of history
His familiarity with US geography, the role it played in our history, and how it shaped the social patterns of our people was evident as he proclaimed, "Let freedom ring" from mountaintops in New Hampshire, and then he proceeded to New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, back eastward to Georgia, Tennessee and, finally, Mississippi. This was well planned, no accident. And as he swept across the country and then back, he literally and figuratively swept more and more people along with him.
The mighty and compelling conclusion
Dr. King declared the reason he was there to begin with, to be "free at last, free at last,” so rhythmically repeated, “free at last.”
The moment!
Although Dr. King’s speech was carefully and painstakingly crafted over time leading up to that day, a magical moment happened about half-way through. He had started with a prepared text that he read meticulously, but you can actually see the point at which he stopped reading from his transcript, and looked out over a sea of people and, ultimately, a nation. Much of the rest were words that flowed, in a cadence that was identifiably what we today recognize as classic King, and an evident confidence that this was a hinge of history – all in keeping with the message but elevating the speech to what we remember. With a more enveloping aura than he had at the beginning, the visible mechanics of his delivery disappeared – and he began to flow. A study of the speech confirms this, as his original manuscript and the actual tape do not match.
Earlier in the speech, the man had seized the moment, but now the moment seized the man, and both became bigger than life.
What happened in history was inevitable but the speech was not. It took a Martin Luther King, Jr. to deliver it.
Which is why we may never see something like this again.
