Martin Luther King Jr.'s "The Drum Major Instinct" Speech was a sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, in February. December 4, 1968. During the time of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong supporter of the movement. Dr. King's speeches are known for his way of using words and the central statement behind them. Analyzing Dr. King's speech "The Drum Major's Instinct" to determine its central statement and rhetorical appeal helps the reader understand Dr. King's writings in more detail. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "The Drum Major's Instinct", he expands on his assertion using rhetorical appeals by explaining how a large ego causes prejudice due to praise, superiority and fractions within a congregation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay First, a large ego can lead to bias through praise. According to the speech, Dr. King said, “You like to be praised. In fact, everyone loves him.” It begins by stating facts that people want and like to be praised. He uses the facts to begin to explain what gives rise to a big ego. Dr. King goes further in his speech by saying that "the most damaging aspect of this situation. What the ego does to the personality. and he says, "If you don't exploit it, you will end up day after day trying to solve your ego problem by bragging." Dr. King says that people will brag about something and therefore will be praised. Now he begins to explain how praise turns into ego and how the ego brags about being the best at something. The evidence supports Dr. King's assertion that too much ego leads to praise bias. Second, the ego causes prejudices related to superiority. He says: "Do you know that a large part of the racial problem arises from the instinct of the drum major" and that it is about the "need that some people have to feel superior." He asks the question to give those listening a pause, then explains that instinct causes people to feel superior. In this quote he says that the ego turns to the problem of superiority. He goes even further by saying: “A need that some people have to feel like they are first and to feel that their white skin has ordained them to be first.” The quote says that white people feel superior because they want to be first and feel that being white means they are superior. The text says that prejudice comes from a big ego and that the drum major's instinct makes them want to be first. This evidence reinforces Dr. King's assertion that a large ego leads to prejudice due to superiority. Finally, a large ego causes factional bias within a congregation. In his speech, Dr. King said that while in prison, he asked "how much the white jailers made" and replied, "They should march with us." You are as poor as the niggers.” The text says that even with prejudice against blacks, some whites are paid as much as blacks. The quote shows that there is more than prejudice against black people but against other white people. He goes on to say, "You are put in the position of supporting your oppressor, because, through prejudice and blindness, you fail to see that the same forces that oppress black people in American society oppress poor white people." ". The quote reinforces that ideas of prejudice against other ethnic groups still exist.