Abstract
King's final speech took place in a specific context of tension and it represented the heyday of the civil rights movement. Large riots in major cities and the divisive issue of the Vietnam War had shattered the liberal consensus for civil rights and created an atmosphere of crisis. On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King traveled to Memphis to lend his support to striking sanitation workers, who had been on strike since February 12. King's audience consisted of 2000 ardent and predominantly black followers gathered to support the cause of striking garbage workers in Memphis, Tennessee. That evening, he delivered his lyrical and prophetic "I‟ve Been to the Mountaintop" speech to the strikers and supporters at Mason Temple, the headquarters of the Church of God in Christ.
At that time, King had been through several experiences like the incident in Albany in 1961. Besides, this former campaign being a failure, we could wonder how Martin Luther King proceeded to convince his listeners to follow his advice. What were the means he avocated? He argued using strong images and great historical events to reinforce his speech in its own way, thanks to religious argumentation. He identified the Memphis strikers with historical victims and urged his listeners to act the part of the Good Samaritan. He also arranged the strike in a historical sequence that featured the Exodus, the Reformation, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Great Depression, and later in his address, the sit-ins for civil rights. His speech touched directly on the importance of unified, collective action and the fight for economic justice exemplified by the labor movement so with pacific means as a purpose.
