For my historical documents, I chose among Frederick Douglass' "What to A Slave Is the Fourth of July?", Chief Seattle's "How Can One Sell the Air?" (usually referred to as the "Speech of 1854"), and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I Have A Dream." However, Chief Seattle's speech was translated into variable forms, and some web pages hinted that the speech was unreliable for several minute reasons (refer to links on Chief Seattle's Thoughts). I also disregarded Douglass' speech because I did not find it as emotionally enticing as King's speech. It was an excellent autoethnographic text, but I did not feel as stimulated by his words.

I therefore chose Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Reverend who was famous for his stirring and poignant speeches. In these speeches, he

Additionally, King refers to the "magnificent words" on the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing that they implied "a promise that all men [. . .] would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (emphasis added), and that the signatures were "a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir" (King 217). From the Declaration of Independence, he cites "we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal" (emphasis added). Thus, he arrests the attention of the "dominant culture" with this tradition-learned phrase, perhaps subtly mocking whites with their own words because, as is so obvious, all men are not created equal in the eyes of whites. The words of the song, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" are reiterated and emphasized as well, such as the phrase "let freedom ring!" (King 220). Again, King seems to deride whites by employing their hypocritical words.

Religious allusions are also evident, such as in the sentence "now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children" (King 218). Though King was a holy man and a minister, there seems to be a deeper meaning to these words; perhaps he is emphasizing the fact that God created all people in his image. By mentioning God, he provides a common ground on which both blacks and whites stand-religion. Also, by illustrating that he is a religious man, he perhaps obtains more respect from whites, thus adding strength and authority to his words. No one will listen to an individual with whom they do not empathize.

Another event he alludes to is the Americans' fight for freedom from the British rule. He embraces, in a "common language," the "common values" (Bartholomae and Petrosky 604) of all Americans: the "American dream" (King 219). Underlying this "dream" is the American Revolution, in which white men fought for the freedom to be "equal" to the British, to transform America "into an oasis of freedom and justice" (King 219). Possibly, King is also reminding whites of their hypocrisy. They fight for their own freedom, but they do not allow others-such as women, blacks, Indians, etc.-to obtain their own. Thus, whites make a mockery of their independence.

In all of these examples, King is subtly presenting a "parodic, oppositional representation of the [white's] own speech [. . .] an image of themselves that they often suppress and will therefore surely recognize" (Pratt 610). In other words, King mocks the words and objects of freedom that whites recognize, believing that whites will surely recognize their hypocrisy.

Exhibiting characteristics of an autoethnographic text, King alludes to American familiarities, which serve to pacify and interest whites with well-known objects and events. In this approach, he "[constructs a] respo

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1888
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)