Read the excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream” speech. Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic
shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. The emotional connotation of the underlined word helps King emphasize the document’s history. significance. timing. creativity.
The Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, granted freedom to millions of <em>slaves</em>. When Martin Luther King Jr mentions this document, he enphasizes its <em>significance</em> for the present similar issues he is defending, specially the <em>end of Racism</em> in the United States of America.