Composition

Robert F. Kennedy’s statement on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. is structured around two main issues: acknowledging the feelings of the black community, and advising Americans to unite, despite the temptation to be divided by racial differences. 

In the first part of the speech, Kennedy acknowledges the hatred and anger of black Americans regarding the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Here, Kennedy expresses his admiration for King: “Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort”. Moreover, he warns against America’s trend towards “polarization – black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another”.

In the second part of ...