Speech Writing: “Martin Luther King” – 20 Topics to Consider

If you are looking for a great topic on Martin Luther King for a speech than you you’ve come to the right place. Do consider the 20 topics below:

Defining Martin Luther King’s Idea of Racial Equality
How Martin Luther King’s Dream Continues Today
The Importance of Social Justice: The Works and Writings of Martin Luther King
The Importance of Economic Justice: The Influence of Martin Luther King
The Importance of Social Change: How Nonviolence has been Historically more Successful than Violence
Why it is Important to Celebrate Martin Luther King
The Purpose in Going to Jail for Causes in which You Believe
The Willingness of Others to Suffer Violence for a Cause: The Real Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Willingness of Others to Support a Cause in the Face of Death: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Use of Nonviolent Tactics to Create Positive Change: How The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. Had Earned the Nobel Peace Prize
The importance of Peace and Equality
The Greatest Achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Importance of Civil Rights
The Impact of Racism Across the Nation: How The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. Changed the Racial Landscape
The Meaning of a “Beloved Community”
Reputations Live on In the Face of Critical Reception: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.
How Poverty Encourages Violence
How Poverty Ruins and Nation: Changing Socioeconomic Status with Martin Luther King
How Non-Violence can Create a Lasting Change
Segregation Today: What if Martin Luther King Jr. had Not Initiated Change

Aren’t those ideas great? If you really love those ideas you will also find the following sample essay on one of the topics from the list above great too. Now you can see what a sample speech looks like.

Sample Speech “Reputations Live on in the Face of Critical Reception: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Martin Luther King Jr. lived from 1929 until his death in 1968. He was the leader of the civil rights movement across the United States from the 1950s through the 1960s. He embodied a nonviolent approach to political activism as well as social reform. This was characterized by the large marches and gatherings he cultivated which were designed to demonstrate the acceptance of current civil rights as well as the barbarism of those people who opposed civil rights. These methods stood in stark contrast to confrontational methods which were espoused by other people such as Malcolm X. Today some of the speeches written by Martin Luther King Jr. are considered landmarks for the civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta Georgia. He grew up in a middle-class family with a father and grandfather who had pursued and encouraged theological education and worked hard for changes within civil rights themselves. During the course of his study he focused on undoing social injustices and particularly the philosophies of nonviolence espoused by Gandhi. He completed his doctoral studies in 1951 immediately after which he received his PhD in theology. It was in 1955 after receiving his PhD that Martin Luther King Jr. had begun to rise among the civil rights leaders and organized the protest which supported Rosa Parks who had recently been removed for sitting in the white’s only section of the public bus. His work continued throughout the 1950s and you’re the end of 1962 he started to focus his efforts on desegregating Birmingham.

His leadership efforts produced agreements with the Justice Department which helped to desegregate fitting rooms, drinking fountains, lunch counters, and restrooms. But he did not stop there. In 1963 he helped 250,000 people to plan and implement a massive march on Washington DC. It was during this time that he presented his famous speech “I have a dream”. The following year he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. He continued to battle violence among police officers and civilians because of his efforts to campaign for voting rights for African-Americans, particularly in Alabama. The results of these were violent clashes leading to the voting rights act being signed into law in 1965. Martin Luther King Jr. continued his work with social campaigns until he was assassinated in 1968.

Martin Luther King Jr. has written many major works which reflect upon his heritage among the southern black churches as well as his thorough knowledge of western philosophies. The first bookkeeper published implemented a great deal of Biblical theology as well as the philosophies of Gandhi. In this book he discussed what events helped lead the way to the Montgomery bus boycott. In other books he went into great detail about his efforts to desegregate Birmingham and his personal responses to the rise of the black power movement. In other written works he had displayed his rather sermonic style with apical rhetoric particularly throughout letters he published for his critics.

While his writings have been heavily praised for their widespread appeal and their ability to evoke emotions out of listeners, some have criticized the great Martin Luther King Jr. for relying too heavily upon the use of rhetorical flourishes and avoiding concrete solutions to the economic, social, and political problems he sought to address. While his efforts were sound and he meant well, provided no real notion of how the goals he set up should have been attained or where those goals might lead. Rather than giving legitimate information as to what steps need to be taken in order to rectify problems within the civil rights time. Dr. Martin Luther King simply focused on demanding change in a calm and polite fashion with many supporters by his side. Even with this critical reception he has made some significant contributions either directly or inadvertently to changes across the legal landscape as we know it today. His legacy will continue to live on as a strong and devout leader for the civil rights movement.

This concludes our sample essay on Martin Luther King Jr. It should give you a good idea of the writing process. Don’t forget to check a few other pieces that greatly complement it: our 10 facts on Martin Luther King as well as the guide on preparing the speech about this prominent figure and his ideas.

References:
Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr… London: IPM in association with Little Brown and Co., 1999. Print.
Downing, F. L. “Martin Luther King, Jr. As Public Theologian”. Theology Today 44.1 (1987): 15-31. Web.
Franklin, Robert. “A Testament Of Hope: The Essential Writings Of Martin Luther King, Jr. James M. Washington Martin Luther King, Jr.”. The Journal of Religion 67.3 (1987): 430-431. Web.
King Jr., Martin Luther. “Martin Luther King Jr. On The Black Revolution Of 1968”. KF 2.1 (2015): n. pag. Web.
Miller, Keith D. “Composing Martin Luther King, Jr.”. PMLA 105.1 (1990): 70. Web.
“Sources For Martin Luther King, Jr.”. OAH Magazine of History 19.1 (2005): 11-12. Web.
Torres, Denis. “Martin Luther King Jr. Hoy”. Cultura de Paz 20.64 (2015): n. pag. Web.
Williams, Reggie L. “Christ-Centered Concreteness: The Christian Activism Of Dietrich Bonhoeffer And Martin Luther King Jr.”. Dialog 53.3 (2014): 185-194. Web.