A “City at War”: Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

摘要

This study uses fantasy theme analysis to examine public discourse that emerged from a Midwestern town's attempt to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The essay examines “Letters to the Editor” to (a) reveal the fantasy themes that represent the writers' consciousness and possibly that of the larger community and (b) to discuss the themes' rhetorical implications for public memory and the act of commemoration. This essay argues that the themes evident in these letters constitute a form of racialized discourse that articulates “new racism” (Goldberg, 1993).