Monday, March 6, 2017

Kairos in the Malcolm X Speech

Anger, resentment, aggravation. These are all the feelings we receive when listening to Malcolm X's speech on police brutality, and these are all the feelings that represent the black communities. Therefore, Malcolm X is able to utilize kairos to his advantage. During this period of the time, the Civil Right's movement was at its peak, and intolerance to white on black violence was on the rise. Using this to his benefit, Malcolm X produces a moving speech, which is able to open the eyes of the people and spur society towards greater racial equality. For example, he talks about the treatment of black communities, and states how the police " trample on that man's civil rights, and human rights." Additionally he references how the police declare that 99% of the blacks are criminals, and that "as long a man is part of the negro community, then the police are justified."  This is a clearly depicts the ongoing resentment and the Civil Rights movement going on within the 1960s, which shows that kairos is a essential and effective element within this speech.

2 comments:

  1. I agree that the effectiveness of Malcolm X's Speech is amplified by the era it was given in. I liked your emphasis on the resentment during the sixties.

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  2. Kane, I like this post, and how it really captures the vibe of the time period. But I wonder if it might also be valuable to discuss the historical hallmarks of the time period? Like, what specifically was going on then that led up to this frustration?

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