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Kate Timmerman

Mrs. Trelease

English 1010

15 October, 2019

Can’t Control Our Image

Civil Rights activist Dick Gregory in his speech at St. John’s Baptist Church, inspires

Alabama residents to fight for the freedom they deserve. Gregory’s purpose is​ to promote the

Civil Rights movement for African Americans in the South.​ He adopts an ironic tone in order to

connect with these people to help ease the difficult times they are going through. In his speech,

Gregory uses satire, metaphors and repetition to help fulfill his purpose and relate with the

audience.

As a comedian Dick Gregory pulls a physical and natural response from the audience;

laughter. This is the reaction received because satire is used throughout the speech to help

alleviate the pain the Alabamians are feeling in regards to segregation. As they are able to sit

back and listen to Gregory the words being said, stick with those in the audience. They are able

to form an understanding that is easier for them to relate to. When talking about something so

heavy and life-changing in society the viewers are more likely to accept something being

delivered in a lighter tone. Paragraph four describes, “I just hate to see Martin Luther King in

jail. For various reasons: one, when the final day get here, he is going to have a hard time trying

to explain to the boss upstairs how he spent more time in jail than he did in the pulpit. [laughter]”

The irony in this example is that Martin Luther King had no control over what was happening.
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He was just fighting for what was right, and what he believed in and as a result, he was put in

jail. This is funny to the listeners because they side with King and they know that he did nothing

wrong. It hits them personally because they can all relate to this. Some of them have been in jail

just like Martin Luther King because of the segregation laws, and they know they haven’t done

anything wrong to receive the treatment they’re receiving. It is such a heavy topic and the

African Americans have done everything they could to make things better. They have reached

the point where all they can do is laugh about it. Gregory allows his guests to do that and gives

them an opportunity not very many people could give. When the comedian mentions, the “boss

upstairs” he is making a reference to God. As Christians, the audience members have devout

faith that God knows what is going on. They know that he would be understanding of Martin

Luther King’s situation, and so when this is said, it appeals to them because they know King is

innocent and it is crazy for them to believe he would be put in jail for his actions. Throughout

this era the constant pressures of the time push others, especially in the South to change the

world around them, and Gregory was the voice for them. He was able to connect with his

audience through satire which strengthened the pathos in his speech. There was a personable

connection between him and the audience because they could feel that he was feeling for them.

This helped connect the audience with the speaker on an emotional level.

Another rhetorical device used, is metaphors. Throughout the beginning of the speech,

Gregory continues to make a reference to “cats” in comparison to the white supremacists. The

google definition of a cat simply is, “​A small domesticated carnivorous mammal with soft fur, a

short snout, and retractable claws. It is widely kept as a pet or for catching mice.” In this scenario

the African Americans are compared to mice. ​Paragraph eight describes, “Just my luck, they’d
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put me in one of them rockets and blast it off, we’d land on Mars somewhere. A cat’d walk up to

me with 27 heads, 59 jaws, 19 lips, 47 legs and look at me and say, “I don’t want you marrying

my daughter neither.” Oh I’d have to cut him.” As exaggerated as this statement may seem it has

such an overwhelming impact on the listeners. As crazy as the cat with “27 heads” and “59 jaws”

sounds, Gregory is making a comparison to the white people. This example is used because it

creates a scenario that seems impossible to anybody but the audience. The southern people were

the only ones who could truly get the metaphor because this is exactly what was happening with

segregation. Such a drastic comparison like this was needed to be used because it represented the

intensity of what was happening during the 60’s. With this metaphor of the cats, a distinct visual

is made for the congregation and they are able to see exactly what Dick Gregory is seeing. As he

adds the remark about the marriage to the daughter it strengthens the logos within the text. It

provides more credibility to know that he is really talking about the “whites”. The southern

people’s lives have been snatched from right underneath them. They have no freedom, they have

no say in anything, and they are working so hard to change this and all they need is a little bit

more hope everyday. This speech was crucial for their community. As they accepted Gregory’s

speech, they regained a new hope and a new drive to bounce back on the white cats pushing

them around.

Lastly, the use of repetition helps accomplish the overall purpose of promoting equal

rights to the southern people. The statement, “We have never been able to control our image” is

repeated multiple times at the very end of the speech. Through repetition, the phrase begins to

stick into the audience’s mind. They are able to hear over and over again what is being told to

them and now is the fun part where the inspiration begins to hit them. In paragraph fifteen it
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explains, “...we have never been able to control our image. He’s always told us about Negro

crime rate, to the extent that you have finally decided to believe it.” In paragraph seventeen it

states, “For some reason, not being able to control our image has made us almost ashamed of

us.” In paragraph twenty it repeats, “Never been able to control our image, all at once we’re

ashamed. Talked about us for so long, we started believing it.” In the examples given above it is

explaining how the role of the people in Alabama has been taken from them. The issues have

been happening for so long that the people in the audience are ashamed of who they are and

where they came from. In each one of these statements Gregory builds on each one. He uses his

passion and his beliefs to strengthen the power behind what he is saying. He is telling the people

that they can’t be ashamed of who they are, what they look like, or where they came from.

Instead of hiding, they need to act and keep fighting. Through repetition, the feeling of

inspiration floods into the room. The whole purpose they are at that church, at that time becomes

known to them. The listeners start to fully understand what they need to do and what their role is

specifically in the south. They can either accept what is being said or ignore it. Through the

repetition every time one of the statements is repeated more and more people begin to be more

willing to follow and unite with each other. They become inspired to change the wrong occurring

in the 1960’s.

Civil Rights activist Dick Gregory in his speech at St. John’s Baptist Church, inspires

Alabama residents to fight for the freedom and rights that they deserve through the rhetorical

devices of satire, metaphors, and repetition. He fulfills his purpose of promoting equal rights to

Southern African Americans through an ironic tone that helps connect him with his audiences.

He proves to be a credible speaker as he gains respect through the use of pathos and logos. The
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people in Alabama listen and are encouraged to keep fighting. These words inspired the Southern

people to be proud of who they were and influenced them to keep fighting for what they believed

in.
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Works Cited

Google Search,​ Google,

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=cat+definition&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8.

Gregory, Richard. “Speech at St. John's Baptists Church.” APM Reports - Investigations and

Documentaries from American Public Media,

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/dgregory.html​.