Sample 1: Feminism

With all of the years that I have spent as a captive I believe that it has allowed me to
sympathetic to any cause that I perceive as injustice. I was born and grew up as a slave, thinking
that the injustices and cruelty that was placed upon me was natural. Some were born slaves and
some were born to be masters; that was the law of the land and there was nothing that could be
done about it. I watched as my poor old grandmother, strong in years but weak of body, was
discarded like scraps of food that you leave for the animals. I did nothing as a handicapped girl
was whipped relentlessly for nothing more than being a slave. I think that it was this experience
with this blatant form of racism has given me a sixth sense so to speak of when a justice of any
kind has been impeded on, big or small.
This sense has led me to help women in any way I can gain the rights that they deserve. I
have seen this movement, the feminist movement, grow and change as time moved forwards. In
the sixties women truly started to enter the work field, doing jobs that were traditionally for men.
Women became miners and doctors and scientist. And now in this day and age women face a
new challenge. A new threat to all the hard work that they have accumulated over the years and
that is tradition and each other.
Tradition has always been there for us. When we no longer know what to do we rely on
tradition and habit to help guide us through awkward and unfamiliar territory, though when
tradition didnt suit the needs of the people or prevented others from prospering we got rid of it.
Slavery was a tradition that America was born with. As long as America was there slavery had
been there right beside it. As long as there had been America injustice against women was with it
hand in hand.
As time went on things like these went away. Slavery was abolished and women
eventually got the rights that they so desired and deserve, but the one thing that has stood against
both racial and gender equality has always been tradition and each other.
As I stand here today there are people outside of this room, women outside of this room
who believe that this movement the feminist movement should not happen. There are people
outside, women outside, who believe that women deserve to get paid 23% less than their male
counterparts. There are people outside who believe that being a feminist equates to hating men
and being treated like a man. Well, I say to them that they are wrong.
The feminist movement is not a struggle for masculinity. Women are not fighting due to
some misguided form of penis envy. Women are not fighting so that they could be seen as men.
Women are fighting this fight so that they could be as respected as men. Those that fight against
feminism is clinging to traditional gender roles with a fear that women will not be treated as
ladies if equality is achieved. But I ask that do you think that it is okay that women should
aim to be successful but not too successful. Do you think it is okay for women to always be
subject to ridicule while men bask in praise.
Slavery was no different from this. Slaves were shunned for the color of their skin at birth
and now women are too. No one should think that it is fair that women are seen as less once
compared to men. If so I say this to you, you are the start of a new wave of slave masters.

Sample 2: Education
My fellow citizens, brothers and sisters, I have come here to inform you of the atrocities,
you, american citizens have been through. As a former slave, my life consisted of pain, suffering,
violence, discrimination and a blindness of the real world. My life as a slave was based on pure
lies; I was taught that a smart and literate slave was worthless. To my masters I was seen as an
object they would utilize to their own advantage, and yet if I attempted to pursue my education
and well being I was seen as less than an animal. Why would I care what they thought of me? I
was already worthless in their eyes. Why would my education and ability to become something
more than a prisoner affect them? After many years of internal struggle and fear of what would
become of me, I felt as if I had rose from the ashes, I felt invincible and astonished at the real
truth I was being stripped and deprived from. This is why, brothers, I am here to claim that many
of you are being discriminated against and are being taught lies. I did not know any better, as a
slave, I believed everything I was being taught, hoping it would be correct. My life and desire to
learn depended on others, why? If I was betrayed and lied to, in their eyes I am a
disgrace behind humanity and the place we call home.
The power and potential in education is immense. Having money and holding high social
status has no comparison to the true value of education. As BB King once stated The beautiful
thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you. When one is able to educate
themselves and gain knowledge over new concepts and ideas, new doors and opportunities are
opened and given access to. When an individual learns and expands their awareness, they hold
a gift that is permanent. No thief, burglar or superior authority contains the ability to deprive or
diminish what it is that you have already been able to conceptualize and understand. This, I
have been able to learn in my own life, so as I speak to you, I share personal accounts.
Vulnerability is ignorance. Being born into a life of slavery and destruction of my own culture, I
held no idea as to what freedom was and I had not even the slightest clue of my right to equality
and justice. Yet here I am with my head held high advocating for you, my brothers, to stand up
against your oppressors, as there is much more out there than what you are brainwashed to
believe. The outside world holds its wonders, pain and cruelty, all in one bundle, yet many of
you are limited and blinded to the truth, your right to be educated and educate others. With an
education an individual is able to overcome adversities and restrictions placed in society. I am
not sure if you are aware that although you may live in one of the most well developed countries
in the world, you too face education inequality. For example, here in America, citizens who live
in different areas are often deprived of an equal education than those who live in a more
prestigious area. How unjust is the idea and overall thought that solely because of where a person
lives they are stripped of a right to equality in an education. How is it that a few numbers placed
in a particular order will determine the outcome of someone's intellectual abilities and life
opportunities?
Fellow acquaintances, I stand before you today with the sole purpose and goal to
persuade you to realize the violations against your conscientious right to be provided with an
education. Now I leave you with the decision to either stand up and place an impact on the
injustice or to remain silent and fall victim of the path of ignorance.

Speech 3: Religious Intolerance
My dearest brethren, I Frederick Douglass, am writing to inform you of the problem we
are facing. Religious Intolerance is the act of intolerance against anothers religious beliefs or
practices. This act is atrocious, and its source leaves me with a feeling of utter desolation. One
would expect such a heinous endeavor to stem from a source deserving of it, such as an atheist
movement or blasphemers. However, the source is domestic and closer than anyone could
realize. The true source lies hidden in the misuse of Christianity itself.
Ever since the perpetrators set foot upon this new land, the name of God has been
misused throughout the years as an excuse to continue these grave injustices. Personally, being a
methodist preacher and having methodist beliefs, I welcome with open arms any method of self
expression. But those who use the belief of Self-Expression to judge another group and
subdue them against their own free will find no favor in my eyes.
Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword, Jesus said. As the living example
of what a Christian should be, Jesus abhorred none, condemned none, but welcomed all. Even
the vilest of sinners had the chance to find grace before the savior. Yet today, his followers do
the exact opposite. Those who call themselves Christians commit crimes such as torture,
damnation, and hypocrisy, I tell you now that they are not christians, but Hellspawn. As a
believer, I cannot begin to fathom how Gods people have let themselves become so twisted,
corrupted, and so perverse in nature that they actually believe they are better than their fellow
brethren. Did The Lord not say, Whoever wishes to be the first, must be the last? Whoever
wishes to be served, shall first serve others? However, the people of God are not the only ones
at fault. Our oriental cousins, the people of Allah, also house a large number of extremists. Why
do you, our Muslim Brothers, refuse to acknowledge that we serve the same all-powerful
God? Would it not be much easier to lay down arms and to live as our God would have us
live? Each side has lost so much in trying to prove a point, that they have forgotten what that
point is. For both God and Allah (I remain convinced they are one and the same) strived for their
nations to love each other, and to have a mutual respect and reverence towards any and all men,
regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, or skin color.
Nothing disgusts me more than witnessing a group of people mistreat, judge and abuse
another. I was once a captive as well, and as a result was constantly judged, ridiculed and denied
of my birth given rights. Furthermore, my fellow brothers and other groups were relentlessly
abused in the same manner I was. This was not an isolated case, however, hundreds upon
thousands of my fellow blacks were subjected to the same cruelty and barbarity that was called
slavery. What never fails to astound me is that these acts were carried out largely in part by
Christians, these preachers of equality and peace. These men of faith, so blind in respect to
their beliefs, refused to even consider the possibility that they were doing wrong in their actions.
Some even went as far as to say that the Bible justified slavery! No, my brothers and sisters,God
never justified slavery. He only justified servitude. A slave is completely different from a butler,
in many respects.
In effect, the sorrows of the old world have not been dulled by time nor progress. As grieved as I
am, I cannot help but hope that sometime soon, people will shake off the shackles of ignorance
that hold us captive. Now is the time to act, now is the time to decide. Back then, many said the
same thing, and were not heeded. Let us be that change, today.

_______xFrederick Douglass

Speech 4: Human Trafficking
Good evening, my fellow American men, I am here to discuss the issue of human trafficking
seen today. Innocent humans are being taken from their homes and families and transported to
foreign countries for forces servitude and sexual exploitation. And those that are taken are hardly
ever found or can ever escape. This is something that needs to be a focus of the spotlight in
society, for awareness is one step closer to ending this cruelty.
My experience in slavery taught me that equality does not exist in several forms,
however, abuse does. Physical and emotional abuse have existed for generations, and are seen
today in those that get trafficked and sent to other places and used as objects for pleasures. I saw
families get ripped apart from each other and children sold to pedophiles as sex slaves,
meanwhile I was not able to do anything about it, but remain quiet for my own safety. The
damage human trafficking causes is endless. This is what I want to put an end to.. Even the more
developed countries have their hidden human trafficking statistics, their wealth and success are
no exception for the cruelties of this morally wrong and inhumane acts.
Slavery was beyond difficult to bear, much less go through. I saw my family members
being raped, whipped, hung, tortured, and no one knew better than to remain quiet. For, their
parents had been born in the farm themselves and knew no other purpose. They were raised to
serve and taught that was the only thing they could and would do. I was lucky to have been
educated for some of my childhood, which allowed me to open my eyes to the truth. Slaves did
not have the eyes to see the extremity of the pain and suffering human trafficking can be the
cause of. However, this was the best and worst thing I couldve done. My new set of eyes not
only exposed me to the freedom behind the gates of my masters farm, but also the harsh
cruelties that my people had been put through for helpless generations. With these motives, I
made it my objective to live for equality and end human trafficking, which led to the outcome of
slavery itself. By experiencing these harsh events, I learned the severity of the damage of human
trafficking. Those slaves that began generations of mixed children were taken from their homes
and families in Africa, westernized, and kept in the New World until their great, grandchildren
were emancipated and could return to Africa at their own free will.
Not only are the victims abused and taken advantage of, but are stripped of their
humanity and at times, they believe that they are the ones at fault. They lose their only sense of
identity and live dreading every single passing day, feeling hopeless by the minute. Some die a
slave due to the causes that are inflicted upon them, and some never know what it is like to live
the normal life of waking up everyday, unaware of the inhumane causes of the world.
Regardless of the abolishment of slavery having been declared official in the 19th
century, the idea of human trafficking and forced slavery continues to this day. What is even
worse is that the majority of the general public is not aware of this issue. Many have the
misconception that slavery no longer exists in any part of the globe. Some may merely be
oblivious to the situation and others may just not be able to truly believe that somewhere in the
world, the cruelty is still a modern-day method. The damages that are made to the victims of sex
trafficking and slavery are permanent. It is like a scar that does not heal. A problem like this will
not just disappear if ignored. It is our responsibility as fellow humans to help one another and
eventually make slavery disappear altogether. The abolishment of slavery of the United States
was official in 1865, so let us abolish world-wide slavery in 2014.