What figure of speech or rhetorical device used in this speech Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've
got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You
know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in
Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that?
He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves
get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot
hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the
beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity.
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Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is on
the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants,
who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that.
That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other
day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They
very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred
sanitation workers are on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and
that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn't get around to that.
Now we're going to march again, and we've got to march again, in order to put the
issue where it is supposed to be-and force everybody to see that there are thirteen
hundred of God's children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through
dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out. That's the
issue. And we've got to say to the nation: We know how it's coming out. For when
people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it,
there is no stopping point short of victory. We aren't going to let any mace stop us.
We are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't
know what to do. I've seen them so often. I remember in Birmingham,
Alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there, we would move
out of the 16th Street Baptist Church day after day; by the hundreds we
would move out. And Bull Connor would tell them to send the dogs
forth, and they did come; but we just went before the dogs singing,
"Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around.”