An Analysis Of The Eulogy Of Barack Obama's Speech

In President Barack Obama’s eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney and others who died in the Charleston Church Shooting, delivered on June 26, 2015 at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, he commemorates Reverend Pinckney and at the same time advocates for his own political agenda. President Obama shifts between black and presidential registers, weaves the ideas of grace, sight, and blindness throughout the speech, and cultivates his ethos to better connect with his audience, the American people, not only African Americans or Christians. President Obama addresses the American public during this racially charged time in order to remember the lives lost during the shooting, to promote his political views, and to unify the all Americans. President Obama speaks in different registers throughout the speech--—effectively code switching to reach his different audiences and accomplish his purposes. He begins his speech by quoting the Bible, using that as a springboard into his

Since he is addressing a religious group, he knows that grace is a concept his audience is very familiar with. He reaffirms that God has graced Reverend Pinckney and the other victims, using epistrophe to emphasize this state of grace. Thus, he connects with them more effectively and commemorates them. Additionally, he quotes, and later sings, the hymn “Amazing Grace,” even tying the lyric “was blind but now I see” to further enforce his political agenda. He repeatedly emphasizes that the United States was blind to a certain issue, such as the unsavory symbol of the Confederate flag, but then, he suggests that perhaps citizens see the issues and are empowered to act. Apart from developing a persona that his immediate audience can connect with, weaving ideas of grace, blindness, and sight enable President Obama to straddle between the sentimental and the