"A Talk To Teachers" SOAPST

“A Talk To Teachers” introduces the main subject of the speech after a brief introduction where Baldwin talks about the times they live in and makes appropriate comparisons with history. The subject of this speech is African American education and educational segregation. The occasion is New York City in the year 1963. This time period was significant for the African American community, for segregation still existed between blacks and whites. Schools were separated by color, and blacks did not receive the same quality of education that white students did. The civil rights movement was beginning to take way. The intended audience of this speech is the schoolteachers of New York City. At the time, it was aimed only to those schoolteachers who were present at the occasion in which the speech was presented. James Baldwin’s purpose is to persuade the audience for equality in education no matter what the students’ skin color. Baldwin also informs schoolteachers of the recurring issues of educational segregation so that it may be easier to persuade them. The speaker is African American writer James Baldwin. The tone Baldwin projects in this speech is persuasive, informative, argumentative, frustrated, and resentful.

            Understanding the speech is facilitated once one completes the SOAPST. The reader understands that the speaker, James Baldwin, has credibility to speak on behalf of this issue because he himself is African American and has dealt with the struggle of segregation. The occasion helps the reader understand the circumstances and conditions of the atmosphere at the time. The intended audience gives the reader an objective reason as to why the speech was given. Baldwin provided New York schoolteachers with an educated African American’s perspective on the issue of educational segregation. His tone reflects how he personally feels about this issue. It helps the reader see that Baldwin feels strongly about the issue and has a personal connection with it.