MLK was one of the most powerful speakers
ever and his speeches are incredibly rhetorically
profound.
So of course he was educated and therefore
he tended to avoid features of speech that
were socially stigmatized, so he tended not
to use those traditional vernacular forms.
But at the same time, always, in whatever
speech, to whatever group, he was identifiably
African American and he was also identifiably
Southern and urban.
So these are really noteworthy stances that
he took in a sense saying, 'The power of what
I have to say is transformative and I'm going
to say it in an authentic voice for me, which
is Black and Southern.'
And so what stands out from King is his rhetorical
power and his social and political voice.
And the fact that it was framed in African
American identity and Southern identity is
one of the great lessons about the authority
and the authenticity of speaking Black in America.
 
[Title:Talking Back in America]
[music: ... I wanna inspire you, ignite something inside of you,
get you to realize the greatest sound you
will ever hear is that of your own voice.]
