Question

Which phrase from Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream” speech contains the strongest emotional connotations?

“the long night of their captivity”
“one hundred years later”
“the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty”
“and so we've come here today to dramatize”

Answer 1

The correct answer would be “ The Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty.”

In this statement, MLK Jr. uses multiple negatively charged words to show the way that African Americans were suffering. Words and phrases like “lonely island” and “poverty” have strong negative ties to the sufferings of African Americans at the time. While A is a close choice, C shows isolation and a life-altering status, giving it the strongest emotional tie in to MLK Jr.’s cause.

Answer 2

C. “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty”