The Power of Language in the Discourses of African-American Leaders

Language is power and it serves in the obtaining and maintaining of power. Words, even better than weapons sometimes, can be a powerful tool in the social struggle that oppressed people try to engage against their social and political oppressors. The Sixties have been an era during which social conflict was particularly strong in the United States because of the African-American case. Two very influential leaders made their way to the head of the movements that began to shake America by means of their words, sharp and strong and heavy with purpose. One was a young "stray cat" from the ghetto, Malcolm X, a smart and belligerent speaker who looked for a rebellion and for the aid of his African fellows. On the other side of the coin was a young priest from the South who believed in a non-violent reaction to the aggressive segregation that white men allowed to be cast - and first-handedly brought - on poor black people, Martin Luther King Jr. Historians, researcher, teachers and authors of any kind have always shown a deep interest in those two men who could affect history and leave a mark with their words.