Still Work to Be Done: The Million Man March and the 50th Anniversary Commemoration Selma to Montgomery March as Mythoform and Visual Rhetoric

Abstract

ABSTRACTMarching has been a popular and effective form of protest throughout the history of American social change. The Black protest march historically has taken place in response to injustices, such as inequitable wages, killing of a Black person without provocation or recourse, or some violation of social, civil or legal rights. To consider whether or not marching remains an effective impetus for change, the authors examined the rhetoric of the Million Man March and the 50th Anniversary Commemoration March from Selma to Montgomery and looked at these marches as enactments of both the Harriet Tubman and Stagolee mythoforms. The authors relied on Stewart, Smith, and Denton's (2001) functional approach to the study of social movement that views rhetoric not as an art, but as agency that allows social movement persuaders to carry out various roles. The examination focused on two of the functions Stewart and colleagues delineated to study social movement rhetoric: (a) transforming perceptions of history and (b) transforming perceptions of society. The implications and relevance of these protest marches, how they differ from those of the past, and their efficacy in the future are discussed.