Topic

In Barack Obama’s remarks on Trayvon Martin, the main topic of the speech is the debate about racial issues and discrimination following Trayvon Martin’s death and the acquittal of his shooter, George Zimmerm…

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Racial discrimination

Part of Obama’s speech is directed towards the racial discrimination that is present in the US. He focuses on social issues, such as the high number of African-American men involved in criminal cases as both victims and perpetrators. However, Obama also reminds the audience that these cases do not justify discrimination and that the position of African Americans should be interpreted by analyzing the violent past of the…

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Argumentation

Barack Obama’s speech mostly relies on direct argumentation (where the speaker's arguments are openly stated).

For example, Obama directly states that law enforcement officers should be trained to avoid racial bias and mistrust when doing their job:

Number one, precisely because law enforcement is often determined at the state and local level, I think it would be productive for the Justice Department, governors, mayors to work with law enforcement about training at the state and local levels in order to reduce the kind of mistrust in the system that sometimes currently exists. (ll. 120-126)

Open argumentation is also used when Obam…