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“I Have a Dream”by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech,Thrust into thenational spotlight inBirmingham, wherehe was arrested andjailed, Martin LutherKing, Jr. helpedorganize a massivemarch onWashington, DC, onAugust 28, 1963. Hispartners in theMarch onWashington for Jobsand Freedom included other religious leaders,labor leaders, and black organizers. Theassembled masses marched down theWashington Mall from the WashingtonMonument to the Lincoln Memorial, heardsongs from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, andheard speeches by actor Charlton Heston,NAACP president Roy Wilkins, and future U.S.Representative from Georgia John Lewis.King's appearance was the last of the event;the closing speech was carried live on majortelevision networks. On the steps of theLincoln Memorial, King evoked the name ofLincoln in his "I Have a Dream" speech,which is credited with mobilizing supporters ofdesegregation and prompted the 1964 CivilRights Act. The next year, King was awardedthe Nobel Peace Prize.The following is the exact text of the spokenspeech, transcribed from recordings:I am happy to join with you today in whatwill go down in history as the greatestdemonstration for freedom in the history ofour nation.Five score years ago, a great American, inwhose symbolic shadow we stand today,signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Thismomentous decree came as a great beaconlight of hope to millions of Negro slaves whohad been seared in the flames of witheringinjustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to endthe long night of their captivity.But one hundred years later, the Negro stillis not free. One hundred years later, the life ofthe Negro is still sadly crippled by themanacles of segregation and the chains ofAugust 1963discrimination. One hundred years later, theNegro lives on a lonely island of poverty in themidst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.One hundred years later, the Negro is stilllanguishing in the corners of American societyand finds himself an exile in his own land. Sowe have come here today to dramatize ashameful condition.In a sense we have come to our nation'scapital to cash a check. When the architects ofour republic wrote the magnificent words ofthe Constitution and the Declaration ofIndependence, they were signing a promissorynote to which every American was to fall heir.This note was a promise that all men, yes, blackmen as well as white men, would be guaranteedthe unalienable rights of life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness.It is obvious today that America has defaultedon this promissory note insofar as her citizensof color are concerned. Instead of honoringthis sacred obligation, America has given theNegro people a bad check, a check which hascome back marked "insufficient funds." But werefuse to believe that the bank of justice isbankrupt. We refuse to believe that there areinsufficient funds in the great vaults ofopportunity of this nation. So we have come tocash this check — a check that will give usupon demand the riches of freedom and thesecurity of justice. We have also come to this

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech,hallowed spot to remind America of the fierceurgency of now. This is no time to engage inthe luxury of cooling off or to take thetranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is thetime to make real the promises of democracy.Now is the time to rise from the dark anddesolate valley of segregation to the sunlit pathof racial justice. Now is the time to lift ournation from the quick sands of racial injusticeto the solid rock of brotherhood.Now is the time to make justice a reality forall of God's children.It would be fatal for the nation to overlookthe urgency of the moment. This swelteringsummer of theNegro'slegitimatediscontent willnot pass untilthere is aninvigoratingautumn offreedom andequality.Nineteensixty-three isnot an end,but abeginning. Those who hope that the Negroneeded to blow off steam and will now becontent will have a rude awakening if thenation returns to business as usual. There willbe neither rest nor tranquility in America untilthe Negro is granted his citizenship rights. Thewhirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake thefoundations of our nation until the bright dayof justice emerges.But there is something that I must say to mypeople who stand on the warm thresholdwhich leads into the palace of justice. In theprocess of gaining our rightful place we mustnot be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us notseek to satisfy our thirst for freedom bydrinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.We must forever conduct our struggle on thehigh plane of dignity and discipline. We mustnot allow our creative protest to degenerateinto physical violence. Again and again we mustAugust 1963rise to the majestic heights of meeting physicalforce with soul force. The marvelous newmilitancy which has engulfed the Negrocommunity must not lead us to a distrust of allwhite people, for many of our white brothers,as evidenced by their presence here today, havecome to realize that their destiny is tied up withour destiny. They have come to realize thattheir freedom is inextricably bound to ourfreedom. We cannot walk alone.As we walk, we must make the pledge that weshall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.There are those who are asking the devotees ofcivil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" Wecan never besatisfied aslong as theNegro is thevictim of theunspeakablehorrors ofpolicebrutality. Wecan never besatisfied, aslong as ourbodies, heavywith thefatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in themotels of the highways and the hotels of thecities. We cannot be satisfied as long as theNegro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghettoto a larger one. We can never be satisfied aslong as our children are stripped of theirselfhood and robbed of their dignity by signsstating "For Whites Only". We cannot besatisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippicannot vote and a Negro in New York believeshe has nothing for which to vote. No, no, weare not satisfied, and we will not be satisfieduntil justice rolls down like waters andrighteousness like a mighty stream.I am not unmindful that some of you havecome here out of great trials and tribulations.Some of you have come fresh from narrow jailcells. Some of you have come from areas whereyour quest for freedom left you battered by thestorms of persecution and staggered by thewinds of police brutality. You have been the

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech,veterans of creative suffering. Continue towork with the faith that unearned suffering isredemptive.Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama,go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia,go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums andghettos of our northern cities, knowing thatsomehow this situation can and will bechanged. Let us not wallow in the valley ofdespair.I say to you today, my friends, so even thoughwe face the difficulties of today and tomorrow,I still have a dream.It is a dream deeply rooted in the Americandream.I have a dream that one day this nation willrise up and live out the true meaning of itscreed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident:that all men are created equal."I have a dream that one day on the red hillsof Georgia the sons of former slaves and thesons of former slave owners will be able to sitdown together at the table of brotherhood.I have a dream that one day even the state ofMississippi, a state sweltering with the heat ofinjustice, sweltering with the heat ofAugust 1963oppression, will be transformed into an oasis offreedom and justice.I have a dream that my four little children willone day live in a nation where they will not bejudged by the color of their skin but by thecontent of their character.I have a dream today.I have a dream that one day, down inAlabama, with its vicious racists, with itsgovernor having his lips dripping with thewords of interposition and nullification; oneday right there in Alabama, little black boys andblack girls will be able to join hands with littlewhite boys and white girls as sisters andbrothers.I have a dream today.I have a dream that one day every valley shallbe exalted, every hill and mountain shall bemade low, the rough places will be made plain,and the crooked places will be made straight,and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, andall flesh shall see it together.This is our hope. This is the faith that I goback to the South with. With this faith we willbe able to hew out of the mountain of despaira stone of hope. With this faith we will be ableto transform the jangling discords of ournation into a beautiful symphony ofbrotherhood. With this faith we will be able towork together, to pray together, to struggletogether, to go to jail together, to stand up forfreedom together, knowing that we will be freeone day.This will be the day when all of God'schildren will be able to sing with a newmeaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet landof liberty, of thee I sing. Land where myfathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, fromevery mountainside, let freedom ring."And if America is to be a great nation thismust become true. So let freedom ring fromthe prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Letfreedom ring from the mighty mountains ofNew York. Let freedom ring from theheightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!Let freedom ring from the snowcappedRockies of Colorado!

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech,Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopesof California!But not only that; let freedom ring fromStone Mountain of Georgia!Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain ofTennessee!Let freedom ring from every hill and molehillof Mississippi. From every mountainside, letfreedom ring.And when this happens, when we allowfreedom to ring, when we let it ring from everyvillage and every hamlet, from every state andevery city, we will be able to speed up that daywhen all of God's children, black men andwhite men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants andCatholics, will be able to join hands and sing inthe words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free atlast! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we arefree at last!"Transcript adapted from online resource, foundhere: http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.htmlAugust 1963Questions to Ponder1. What was the purpose of Dr. Martin LutherKing, Jr.’s speech?2. What motivated him to give it?3. Research further: What happened followinghis speech (did it work)?4. What does this speech mean to you?5. Barack Obama became the first blackPresident of the United States, 46 yearsafter Dr. King gave this speech. How is thissignificant relating to Dr. King’s speech?Explain.6. How can you spread Dr. King’s message ofhope for racial equality?7. Service: Dr. King said, “Everyone can begreat because everyone can serve.” Whatdoes this mean?8. What can you do to serve others? Formulatea service project that you will carry out foran extended amount of time.Social Studies ConnectionResearch the timeline of events in the CivilRights Movement. In your opinion, whichevents were more significant or influential inpromoting change?Language Arts Connection1. Dr. King uses figurative language in hiscomparison:One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonelyisland of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean ofmaterial prosperity.a. What type of figurative language device ishe using?b. What two things are being compared?c. What does it mean?2. Dr. King uses a sound device in thefollowing passage:Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill ofMississippi. From every mountainside, let freedomring.a. What type of sound device is being used inthis sentence?