If I had a thousand tongues and each tongue were a thousand thunderbolts and each thunderbolt had a thousand voices, I would use them all today to help you understand a loyal and misrepresented and misjudged people.” These were the words of Joseph C. Price, founder and President of Livingston College in North Carolina, who in 1890 delivered an address to the National Education Association annual convention held in Minneapolis. Price’s words reflect on the long tradition of African American oratory. Listed below are some of the most significant orations by African Americans with links to the actual speeches.
Image Ownership: Larry Downing, Sygma (Fair Use) In 1995 Minister Louis Farrakhan was the leader of the Nation of Islam. That year his organization became the driving force in the Million Man March, a call for African American men to come to Washington D.C. on … Read More(1995) Louis Farrakhan, “A Million Men Marching On”
Image Ownership: Public Domain In July 1995, President Bill Clinton delivered a major speech at the White House in defense of Affirmative Action programs across the nation at a time when many critics were calling for their repeal. He argued that such programs were still needed … Read More(1995) William Jefferson Clinton, “the Job of Ending Discrimination in This Country is Not Over”
Kweisi Mfume, born Frizzel Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, represented that city in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1986 to 1996 and rose to become Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. On February 15, 1996, he stepped down to become President of the National Association … Read More(1997) Kweisi Mfume, “A Shining and Powerful Dream”
“Image Ownership: Michael Kinsey” Corporate executive, ordained minister, and university educator James A. Joseph served as United States Ambassador to post-apartheid South Africa from 1995 to 1999. Ambassador Joseph returned to the United States to deliver the speech below to the General Convention of Alpha … Read More(1997) The Idea of an African Renaissance, Myth or Reality?
In the speech below conservative critic Anne Wortham challenges the central theme of universal brotherhood as promoted in Dr. Martin Luther King’s often quoted “I Have A Dream Speech.” She argues that King failed to recognize individual success and failure as the causes of racial … Read More(1998) Anne Wortham, “Martin Luther King’s Flawed Dream”
On July 28, 1998, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gave the keynote speech at the National Bar Association, the predominately black national lawyers’s association, at its annual convention held that year in Memphis, Tennessee. The speech appears below. Mr. Mayor, my fellow colleagues of … Read More(1998) Clarence Thomas, “Speech to the National Bar Association”
Harold Ford Jr. Image Ownership: Public Domain In 2000 at the National Democratic Convention in Los Angeles where Vice President Al Gore, Jr., won the Democratic Nomination for President, fellow Tennessean, Congressman Harold Ford of Memphis, gave the Keynote Address. That address appears below. Thank … Read More(2000) Harold Ford, “Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention”
On February 9, 2001, actress and vocalist Diahann Carroll addressed the World Summit Against Cancer meeting in Paris, France. Carroll addressed the audience of scholars and activists as a breast cancer survivor. Her speech appears below. Bonjour. Good afternoon. Thank you for your gracious invitation … Read More(2001) Diahann Carroll, “Keeping Up the Good Fight, Winning the Crusade Against Cancer”
During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, whose most famous congregant was Illinois Senator Barack Obama, burst unto the national political scene when media outlets reported and aired segments of previous sermons. The segment which appeared most … Read More(2003) Rev. Jeremiah Wright, “Confusing God and Government”
Image Ownership: Reuters (Fair Use) In 2004 Rev. Al Sharpton of New York City, campaigned for the Democratic nomination for President. Sharpton saw himself as the successor to Rev. Jesse Jackson who campaigned for the Presidency on behalf of the impoverished and oppressed. Although he … Read More(2004) Al Sharpton, “Speech Before the 2004 Democratic National Convention”
