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RKeshia Smith Rhetorical Analysis draft Equality On February 26, 2012 teenager, Trayvon Martin, was shot at killed

by neighborhood watch leader, George Zimmerman. Zimmerman reported that he shot Trayvon Martin out of selfdefense. A week after Zimmerman was pleaded not guilty of murder, President Obama gave a very sincere speech regarding the outcome of the George Zimmerman case. It is obvious that this speech was directed to the American people because this is a press conference and he is addressing the people on a serious topic. His speech was about African-American males, and what we must do to help make the United States less violent. He explains that people have different ways of interpreting the case because there has been a history of racial differences in the criminal law. President Obama did not have to create any exigency in his speech because the American people wanted to hear what he had to say. The audience is curious about how the President feels about the outcome of the Zimmerman case. There are three rhetorical appeals that show up in this speech, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. These three appeals make the speech livelier and let the listener or reader connect with the speaker. In his speech Obama effectively convinces his audience that America needs to work on the issue of racism. Reading this speech the audience should realize president Obama is trying to reach out to African- American males because he feel like they can possibly be the future of America, but this speech would have been more effective if he spoke of the issues of other races as well. To begin to analyze this argument one must first understand the authors background. This speech was given directly by President Barack Obama. This is important in developing

ethos, and establishing credibility. He also establishes credibility because he is speaking of the issues of African- American males, he can speak on this subject because he is an AfricanAmerican and knows what they go through and he has possibly experienced the situations. He speaks of a situation when before he was senator where he experienced people following him while shopping. This shows that he has faced adversity because of his race. By this speech being given by President Obama, it is obvious that he has knowledge on this case. The audience should know that they can trust what President Obama is saying is the truth because he is very passionate about fixing the world and making it a better place. During all of President Obamas speeches he tries to connect with the audience emotionally. It is a way for him to have a better connection with the audience. The president makes the first appeal to pathos in the middle of his speech by stating, You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could he been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. He is making us realize that this tragedy could have happened to any of us. This is one of the few times Obama mentions anything about this tragedy. He also connect with the audience emotionally when he tells about some experiences African- American males has experienced, like being followed while shopping and hearing locks click on doors when they are walking by. He is showing that even though he is the President he has also gone through some of these experiences. This speech effects AfricanAmericans mainly emotionally. President Obama is showing that even though we are all supposed to be equal there is still some racism going on. He is trying to let us know that he is trying to make the world more equal. He is only connecting with the African American community because he is only speaking on issues of African-Americans. The speech would have been more effective if he reached a broader audience and included other races as well. There is

still some racism going on but there are still issues with other races. He could have also spoken of issue of other races. Then he would have connected to a broader audience. President Obama constructs the logical argument that America need to figure out how to help African- American men feel that theyre a full part of this society. This means that we need to put race behind us and make other paths to help African- American men successful. AfricanAmerican men are not the only people who need to feel like they are a part of society. Of everyone was involved then we can resolve major problems. He also makes a claim that Trayvon Martin was more likely to be shot by a peer that he was by somebody else. Would it have made a difference if Trayvon Martin was killed by a black person? If Trayvon was killed by an AfricanAmerican then it would not have been that big of a deal. America was looking at the case wrong; all they saw was a Hispanic man kill a black kid. President Obama makes another claim in his speech when he stated, And that all contributes I think to a sense that if a white teen was involved in the same kind of scenario both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different. This is another way he explains that there still isnt equality. He is basically saying that if a white teen was shot and killed Zimmerman might have been guilty of murder. In conclusion, President Obama barely gives his opinion on the outcome of the Zimmerman trial. He makes his entire speech on African- Americans and make it a point that they need to have a bigger role in America. Obama makes it obvious that racism is still a problem in America. He gives different ways of helping this problem. He wants America to become a more perfect union. From this situation he ask the question of how we learn some lessons and move in a positive direction. There are a lot of kids who need help but they are getting negative reinforcement. Because President Obama is African-American he makes it a point in his speech to tell ways he is trying to make them feel involved. He only connects with

African- Americans throughout his entire speech, and he only speaks of the issues of the AfricanAmerican community. This speech would have been more effective if he spoke of the issues of other races.

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