Kairos in "Equal Rights" by Shirley Chisholm

"Equal Rights" by Shirley Chisholm is powerful and moving because of its kairos. Understanding the time period of the 1960s, a time where many prejudices against African Americans and women escalated, allows for the audience to connect and grasp the situation that immediate action is necessary. Following up to Shirley Chisholm's speech addressed to the speaker of the House of Representatives, there was an "unspoken assumption is that women are different" and inferior to men. Second Wave Feminism was a movement that was in full swing alongside the Civil Rights Movement. The kairos of the speech made it very appropriate for Chisholm to push for equal rights of all people. Chisholm shortly after became the first African-American women running for American presidency. She used her decorum as well as her position in the government to share the injustices using sharing personal statements how she is "no stranger to race prejudice." An additional source with great use of kairos is 'We Have Found You Wanting" by Rose Schneiderman. She speaks about the mistreatment of women in factories harshly because her speech was directly after the 1911 Triangle Factory Fire. She reports that every week she learns about the "untimely death of one of her sister workers." Schneiderman's speech has an angry tone where she demands change and equal rights for women because of her situation with even more application of kairos than of Chisholm's speech. These speeches reflect how society is hesitant to change and how time and time again equal rights for all people cannot be totally be achieved.

http://trianglefire.ilr.cornell.edu/primary/testimonials/ootss_RoseSchneiderman.html