King~Obama

Having juxtaposed two different videos recorded in two different eras, wherein the cynosure of both is the theme of achievement in racial equality, I found that the two easily share similar attributes. President elect, Barack Obama's, victory speech was blatantly reminiscent of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech."

At first glance the most obvious allusion resides in the presence of the two speakers: Barack Obama, forerunner in the fight for America, stands in front of American flags and is surrounded by American citizens; Martin Luther King Jr., forerunner in the fight for equality, presides over an expanse of people, all of different races and ages.

Both the victory speech as well as the "I have a dream speech" entails the rights of the people, the good of the people, and the restoration of equality in America. The inflections in the speakers' voice and the pauses and breaks incorporated in their remarks are strategically placed to be impactful.

Obama's quote "And from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, has not perished from the earth - this your victory (7:14)!" bears a strong resemblance to King's "I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character - I have a dream today (13:36)!" It's interesting how Obama's statement greatly alludes to King's statement as the resolution of King' cause.

Again, the end of each of their speeches encompasses similar promises: Obama's, "...and where we are met with cynicism and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: yes, we can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America (16:32)." bears a likeness to King's "And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last(16:42)!"

The only difference in the two is the speakers' apparent enthuiasm. Of course, King was fighting for a cause and promising a victory whereas Obama was celebrating a victory and promising progression.

King's Speech: We Shall Overcome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

Obama's Speech: Yes We Can
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jll5baCAaQU