John C. Hammerback

Ethnic heritage as rhetorical legacy: the plan of Delano

The Plan of Delano was a powerful persuasive document in the interrelated Chicano and farmworkers’ movements of the 1960s and 1970s. To support the thesis that this Plans persuasive qualities are illuminated best from the perspective of its own ethnic legacy, this essay attempts to demonstrate that the Plans Mexican‐originated generic form and Mexican‐American cultural context reveal sources of its rhetorical power and meaning. These findings provide several implications for the rhetorical criticism of ethnic discourse.

Barry Goldwater's rhetoric of rugged individualism

From 1960 through 1963 Barry Goldwater relied on rhetoric to build a coalition of zealous supporters who carried him to the Republican presidential nomination. The substantive themes and psychological appeals in Goldwaters extensive speaking and writing created a message of rugged individualism that was identified with important properties of four groups prominent in his coalition.

No Revolutions without Poets: The Rhetoric of Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales.

Rodolfo “Corky”; Gonzales contributed significantly to the Chicano movement as the author of the most famous Chicano poem, “Yo Soy Joaquin”; a founder of the Crusade for Justice in Denver; a leader of the Chicano political party, La Raza Unida; and an organizer of the first Chicano Youth Liberation Conference. This paper examines Gonzales’ extensive public address—his poetry, plays, and speeches—in his campaign to improve the lives of Chicanos. Gonzales’ early life shaped the content of his discourse; and his primary audience, substantive themes, and rhetorical techniques separated him from other Chicano leaders.

Working in ''Quiet Places'': The Community Organizing Rhetoric of Robert Parris Moses

This paper argues that communication scholars should broaden their areas of study by focusing on the community organizing tradition as well as the community mobilizing tradition. In the past scholars have focused on studies of individuals such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who epitomize the community mobilizing tradition. This study focuses on Robert Parris Moses and two movements which he has led. Mosess leadership epitomizes the community organizing tradition. His movements and discourse are off ered as alternatives to the community mobilizing tradition.This paper argues that communication scholars should broaden their areas of study by focusing on the community organizing tradition as well as the community mobilizing tradition. In the past scholars have focused on studies of individuals such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who epitomize the community mobilizing tradition. This study focuses on Robert Parris Moses and two movements which he has led. Mosess leadership epitomizes the community organizing tradition. His movements and discourse are off ered as alternatives to the community mobilizing tradition.

A relational model for interracial interactions on television

This study offers a model of the communicated relationship among interracial communicators on television. Incorporating scholarship in interpersonal, intercultural, and media communication, the model discerns three attributes of relational messages: independent, dependent, and interdependent. Each attribute is typified by behaviors which indicate the quality and levels of involvement between interactants. The three attributes and their respective levels are presented in relation to each other on a triangular figure. An application of the IDI model indicates that the model can be usefully employed and suggests that television viewers are perhaps watching and learning communication practices and patterns which do not facilitate deep friendships, intimate relationships, and close cooperation between Blacks and Whites.

From Muslim to Mormon: Eldridge cleaver's rhetorical crusade

During his life Eldridge Cleaver has been a member of several very different organizations. His dramatic changes have caused confusion and even hostility among those who have followed his career. This paper argues that Cleaver is a religious individual who has remained faithful to his primary concern of improving the lives of Blacks in the United States. The paper details how Cleavers discourse has been religious in nature and argues that his persuasive tactics have been consistent throughout his life.

Martyrs for a just cause: The eulogies of Cesar Chavez

During his years as president of the United Farm Workers (UFW), Cesar Chavez delivered five eulogies for individuals who were killed while engaged in union activities. This paper argues that these “Accidental Martyrs” were rhetorically created by Chavez to serve as symbols for the unions cause. The eulogies helped Chavez to build a union community and to move the UFWs members to accept particular beliefs and to undertake specific acts. He also used the martyrs as models in his later speeches.

The rhetoric of a righteous reform: George Washington Julian's 1852 campaign against slavery

Indianas foremost white spokesman for the slave, George Washington Julian, carried his antislavery campaign through much of the Midwest in 1852, a particularly difficult year for advocates of Negro rights. An analysis of Julians canvass suggests that his speechmaking advanced antislavery in several important ways, and that his successes rested upon rhetorical strategies and a motivation to speak which grew in part from his inter‐related views of rhetoric, God, and reform.

Feminists of faith: Sonia Johnson and the Mormons for ERA

The Mormons for ERA is analyzed in this essay as an innovational movement. In this way, Sonia Johnsons appeals to mainstream Mormons before her excommunication can he understood as reformist discourse which became radicalized only in a second stage.