i have a dream speech essay

Essay on Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Speech

I have a dream: essay introduction, martin luther king’s speech: essay conclusion, reference list.

One of the finest explanations of American’s dream is the powerful speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. He delivered the speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, in Washington D.C. The speech is mainly centered on racial equality and stoppage of discrimination.

At that time, racial segregation ruled in almost all places: be it schools, neighborhoods and even in social places. With violence and riots so often, it was a disturbing moment for America although the U.S government was doing nothing to change the situation. Through the speech, Dr. King was educating inspiring and informing both the civil supporters and the unborn generation in the world to reach out to their dreams and giving his audience hope for a better future.

Up to the time when he was delivering the speech, African Americans were still under slavery from the white people as indicated in the below excerpt.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination…….One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land (Luther, 1963, para. 2).

The speech depicts the idea that someone can actually be anything that he dreams of becoming. Dr. King suggested that America is a land full of opportunities and that Americans should maximize on them. Before transforming the world, he saw the need to begin in America. Dr. King began the speech with a rhetoric phrase, ’Now is the time’, a tool that he used throughout speech. In the sixth paragraph of his speech, he used the phrase six times.

He was echoing to his audience to get hold of the moment. More so he used the phrase, ‘I have a dream eight times. By so doing he was echoing future hope for the people that will make them forget about all the slavery sufferings and injustices that they had faced while under slavery.

This is a sign of hope for the future too. He brought in the idea of slavery to suggest that it is still operational in today’s world. By using the word ‘slave-owners’, Dr. King was referring to the white, however to calm any tension between the black and the white people, he re-unites them by saying, “… will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood” (Luther, 1963, para.12).

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners ………, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice…. I have a dream today (Luther, 1963, para.12).

The dream in the above context symbolizes the aspirations that Dr. King had of America setting the stage for the rest of the world. He also says that ‘this nation will rise up’ meaning that he had fathomed a revolution time when the Americans will be accepted as right persons in the States (Luther, 1963, para.12).

There was an established racial discrimination that is why he sent such a strong message to the white. More importantly is the fact that his words were advocating for peace hence providing the vision that anyone would buy it. There above discussion hence shows that Martin Luther King, Jr was really, an effective public speaker.

Luther, M. (1963). I have a dream. Web.

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A Summary and Analysis of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘I Have a Dream’ is one of the greatest speeches in American history. Delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68) in Washington D.C. in 1963, the speech is a powerful rallying cry for racial equality and for a fairer and equal world in which African Americans will be as free as white Americans.

If you’ve ever stayed up till the small hours working on a presentation you’re due to give the next day, tearing your hair out as you try to find the right words, you can take solace in the fact that as great an orator as Martin Luther King did the same with one of the most memorable speeches ever delivered.

He reportedly stayed up until 4am the night before he was due to give his ‘I Have a Dream’, writing it out in longhand. You can read the speech in full here .

‘I Have a Dream’: background

The occasion for King’s speech was the march on Washington , which saw some 210,000 African American men, women, and children gather at the Washington Monument in August 1963, before marching to the Lincoln Memorial.

They were marching for several reasons, including jobs (many of them were out of work), but the main reason was freedom: King and many other Civil Rights leaders sought to remove segregation of black and white Americans and to ensure black Americans were treated the same as white Americans.

1963 was the centenary of the Emancipation Proclamation , in which then US President Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) had freed the African slaves in the United States in 1863. But a century on from the abolition of slavery, King points out, black Americans still are not free in many respects.

‘I Have a Dream’: summary

King begins his speech by reminding his audience that it’s a century, or ‘five score years’, since that ‘great American’ Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This ensured the freedom of the African slaves, but Black Americans are still not free, King points out, because of racial segregation and discrimination.

America is a wealthy country, and yet many Black Americans live in poverty. It is as if the Black American is an exile in his own land. King likens the gathering in Washington to cashing a cheque: in other words, claiming money that is due to be paid.

Next, King praises the ‘magnificent words’ of the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence . King compares these documents to a promissory note, because they contain the promise that all men, including Black men, will be guaranteed what the Declaration of Independence calls ‘inalienable rights’: namely, ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’.

King asserts that America in the 1960s has ‘defaulted’ on this promissory note: in other words, it has refused to pay up. King calls it a ‘sacred obligation’, but America as a nation is like someone who has written someone else a cheque that has bounced and the money owed remains to be paid. But it is not because the money isn’t there: America, being a land of opportunity, has enough ‘funds’ to ensure everyone is prosperous enough.

King urges America to rise out of the ‘valley’ of segregation to the ‘sunlit path of racial justice’. He uses the word ‘brotherhood’ to refer to all Americans, since all men and women are God’s children. He also repeatedly emphasises the urgency of the moment. This is not some brief moment of anger but a necessary new start for America. However, King cautions his audience not to give way to bitterness and hatred, but to fight for justice in the right manner, with dignity and discipline.

Physical violence and militancy are to be avoided. King recognises that many white Americans who are also poor and marginalised feel a kinship with the Civil Rights movement, so all Americans should join together in the cause. Police brutality against Black Americans must be eradicated, as must racial discrimination in hotels and restaurants. States which forbid Black Americans from voting must change their laws.

Martin Luther King then comes to the most famous part of his speech, in which he uses the phrase ‘I have a dream’ to begin successive sentences (a rhetorical device known as anaphora ). King outlines the form that his dream, or ambition or wish for a better America, takes.

His dream, he tells his audience, is ‘deeply rooted’ in the American Dream: that notion that anybody, regardless of their background, can become prosperous and successful in the United States. King once again reminds his listeners of the opening words of the Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

In his dream of a better future, King sees the descendants of former Black slaves and the descendants of former slave owners united, sitting and eating together. He has a dream that one day his children will live in a country where they are judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

Even in Mississippi and Alabama, states which are riven by racial injustice and hatred, people of all races will live together in harmony. King then broadens his dream out into ‘our hope’: a collective aspiration and endeavour. King then quotes the patriotic American song ‘ My Country, ’Tis of Thee ’, which describes America as a ‘sweet land of liberty’.

King uses anaphora again, repeating the phrase ‘let freedom ring’ several times in succession to suggest how jubilant America will be on the day that such freedoms are ensured. And when this happens, Americans will be able to join together and be closer to the day when they can sing a traditional African-American hymn : ‘Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.’

‘I Have a Dream’: analysis

Although Martin Luther King’s speech has become known by the repeated four-word phrase ‘I Have a Dream’, which emphasises the personal nature of his vision, his speech is actually about a collective dream for a better and more equal America which is not only shared by many Black Americans but by anyone who identifies with their fight against racial injustice, segregation, and discrimination.

Nevertheless, in working from ‘I have a dream’ to a different four-word phrase, ‘this is our hope’. The shift is natural and yet it is a rhetorical masterstroke, since the vision of a better nation which King has set out as a very personal, sincere dream is thus telescoped into a universal and collective struggle for freedom.

What’s more, in moving from ‘dream’ to a different noun, ‘hope’, King suggests that what might be dismissed as an idealistic ambition is actually something that is both possible and achievable. No sooner has the dream gathered momentum than it becomes a more concrete ‘hope’.

In his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, King was doing more than alluding to Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation one hundred years earlier. The opening words to his speech, ‘Five score years ago’, allude to a specific speech Lincoln himself had made a century before: the Gettysburg Address .

In that speech, delivered at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery (now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in November 1863, Lincoln had urged his listeners to continue in the fight for freedom, envisioning the day when all Americans – including Black slaves – would be free. His speech famously begins with the words: ‘Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.’

‘Four score and seven years’ is eighty-seven years, which takes us back from 1863 to 1776, the year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. So, Martin Luther King’s allusion to the words of Lincoln’s historic speech do two things: they call back to Lincoln’s speech but also, by extension, to the founding of the United States almost two centuries before. Although Lincoln and the American Civil War represented progress in the cause to make all Americans free regardless of their ethnicity, King makes it clear in ‘I Have a Dream’ that there is still some way to go.

In the last analysis, King’s speech is a rhetorically clever and emotionally powerful call to use non-violent protest to oppose racial injustice, segregation, and discrimination, but also to ensure that all Americans are lifted out of poverty and degradation.

But most of all, King emphasises the collective endeavour that is necessary to bring about the world he wants his children to live in: the togetherness, the linking of hands, which is essential to make the dream a reality.

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"I Have a Dream"

August 28, 1963

Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered at the 28 August 1963  March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , synthesized portions of his previous sermons and speeches, with selected statements by other prominent public figures.

King had been drawing on material he used in the “I Have a Dream” speech in his other speeches and sermons for many years. The finale of King’s April 1957 address, “A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations,” envisioned a “new world,” quoted the song “My Country ’Tis of Thee,” and proclaimed that he had heard “a powerful orator say not so long ago, that … Freedom must ring from every mountain side…. Yes, let it ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado…. Let it ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let it ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let it ring from every mountain and hill of Alabama. From every mountain side, let freedom ring” ( Papers  4:178–179 ).

In King’s 1959 sermon “Unfulfilled Hopes,” he describes the life of the apostle Paul as one of “unfulfilled hopes and shattered dreams” ( Papers  6:360 ). He notes that suffering as intense as Paul’s “might make you stronger and bring you closer to the Almighty God,” alluding to a concept he later summarized in “I Have a Dream”: “unearned suffering is redemptive” ( Papers  6:366 ; King, “I Have a Dream,” 84).

In September 1960, King began giving speeches referring directly to the American Dream. In a speech given that month at a conference of the North Carolina branches of the  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , King referred to the unexecuted clauses of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and spoke of America as “a dream yet unfulfilled” ( Papers  5:508 ). He advised the crowd that “we must be sure that our struggle is conducted on the highest level of dignity and discipline” and reminded them not to “drink the poisonous wine of hate,” but to use the “way of nonviolence” when taking “direct action” against oppression ( Papers  5:510 ).

King continued to give versions of this speech throughout 1961 and 1962, then calling it “The American Dream.” Two months before the March on Washington, King stood before a throng of 150,000 people at Cobo Hall in Detroit to expound upon making “the American Dream a reality” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 70). King repeatedly exclaimed, “I have a dream this afternoon” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 71). He articulated the words of the prophets Amos and Isaiah, declaring that “justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream,” for “every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 72). As he had done numerous times in the previous two years, King concluded his message imagining the day “when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing with the Negroes in the spiritual of old: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” (King,  Address at Freedom Rally , 73).

As King and his advisors prepared his speech for the conclusion of the 1963 march, he solicited suggestions for the text. Clarence  Jones   offered a metaphor for the unfulfilled promise of constitutional rights for African Americans, which King incorporated into the final text: “America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned” (King, “I Have a Dream,” 82). Several other drafts and suggestions were posed. References to Abraham Lincoln and the  Emancipation Proclamation  were sustained throughout the countless revisions. King recalled that he did not finish the complete text of the speech until 3:30 A.M. on the morning of 28 August.

Later that day, King stood at the podium overlooking the gathering. Although a typescript version of the speech was made available to the press on the morning of the march, King did not merely read his prepared remarks. He later recalled: “I started out reading the speech, and I read it down to a point … the audience response was wonderful that day…. And all of a sudden this thing came to me that … I’d used many times before.... ‘I have a dream.’ And I just felt that I wanted to use it here … I used it, and at that point I just turned aside from the manuscript altogether. I didn’t come back to it” (King, 29 November 1963).

The following day in the  New York Times,  James Reston wrote: “Dr. King touched all the themes of the day, only better than anybody else. He was full of the symbolism of Lincoln and Gandhi, and the cadences of the Bible. He was both militant and sad, and he sent the crowd away feeling that the long journey had been worthwhile” (Reston, “‘I Have a Dream …’”).

Carey to King, 7 June 1955, in  Papers  2:560–561.

Hansen,  The Dream,  2003.

King, Address at the Freedom Rally in Cobo Hall, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, “I Have a Dream,” Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, Interview by Donald H. Smith, 29 November 1963,  DHSTR-WHi .

King, “The Negro and the American Dream,” Excerpt from Address at the Annual Freedom Mass Meeting of the North Carolina State Conference of Branches of the NAACP, 25 September 1960, in  Papers  5:508–511.

King, “A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations,” Address Delivered at St. Louis Freedom Rally, 10 April 1957, in  Papers  4:167–179.

King, Unfulfilled Hopes, 5 April 1959, in  Papers  6:359–367.

James Reston, “‘I Have a Dream…’: Peroration by Dr. King Sums Up a Day the Capital Will Remember,”  New York Times , 29 August 1963.

I Have a Dream Speech

Martin luther king, jr., ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

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‘I Have a Dream’ Speech

By: History.com Editors

Updated: December 19, 2023 | Original: November 30, 2017

The “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. before a crowd of some 250,000 people at the 1963 March on Washington, remains one of the most famous speeches in history. Weaving in references to the country’s Founding Fathers and the Bible , King used universal themes to depict the struggles of African Americans before closing with an improvised riff on his dreams of equality. The eloquent speech was immediately recognized as a highlight of the successful protest, and has endured as one of the signature moments of the civil rights movement .

Civil Rights Movement Before the Speech

Martin Luther King Jr. , a young Baptist minister, rose to prominence in the 1950s as a spiritual leader of the burgeoning civil rights movement and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SLCC).

By the early 1960s, African Americans had seen gains made through organized campaigns that placed its participants in harm’s way but also garnered attention for their plight. One such campaign, the 1961 Freedom Rides , resulted in vicious beatings for many participants, but resulted in the Interstate Commerce Commission ruling that ended the practice of segregation on buses and in stations.

Similarly, the Birmingham Campaign of 1963, designed to challenge the Alabama city’s segregationist policies, produced the searing images of demonstrators being beaten, attacked by dogs and blasted with high-powered water hoses.

Around the time he wrote his famed “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King decided to move forward with the idea for another event that coordinated with Negro American Labor Council (NACL) founder A. Philip Randolph’s plans for a job rights march.

March on Washington

Thanks to the efforts of veteran organizer Bayard Rustin, the logistics of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom came together by the summer of 1963.

Joining Randolph and King were the fellow heads of the “Big Six” civil rights organizations: Roy Wilkins of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Whitney Young of the National Urban League (NUL), James Farmer of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Other influential leaders also came aboard, including Walter Reuther of the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Joachim Prinz of the American Jewish Congress (AJC).

Scheduled for August 28, the event was to consist of a mile-long march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, in honor of the president who had signed the Emancipation Proclamation a century earlier, and would feature a series of prominent speakers.

Its stated goals included demands for desegregated public accommodations and public schools, redress of violations of constitutional rights and an expansive federal works program to train employees.

The March on Washington produced a bigger turnout than expected, as an estimated 250,000 people arrived to participate in what was then the largest gathering for an event in the history of the nation’s capital.

Along with notable speeches by Randolph and Lewis, the audience was treated to performances by folk luminaries Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and gospel favorite Mahalia Jackson .

‘I Have a Dream’ Speech Origins

In preparation for his turn at the event, King solicited contributions from colleagues and incorporated successful elements from previous speeches. Although his “I have a dream” segment did not appear in his written text, it had been used to great effect before, most recently during a June 1963 speech to 150,000 supporters in Detroit.

Unlike his fellow speakers in Washington, King didn’t have the text ready for advance distribution by August 27. He didn’t even sit down to write the speech until after arriving at his hotel room later that evening, finishing up a draft after midnight.

‘Free At Last’

As the March on Washington drew to a close, television cameras beamed Martin Luther King’s image to a national audience. He began his speech slowly but soon showed his gift for weaving recognizable references to the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and other universal themes into his oratory.

Pointing out how the country’s founders had signed a “promissory note” that offered great freedom and opportunity, King noted that “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.'”

At times warning of the potential for revolt, King nevertheless maintained a positive, uplifting tone, imploring the audience to “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 and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.”

Mahalia Jackson Prompts MLK: 'Tell 'em About the Dream, Martin'

Around the halfway point of the speech, Mahalia Jackson implored him to “Tell ’em about the ‘Dream,’ Martin.” Whether or not King consciously heard, he soon moved away from his prepared text.

Repeating the mantra, “I have a dream,” he offered up hope that “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” and the desire to “transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

“And when this happens,” he bellowed in his closing remarks, “and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'”

‘I Have a Dream’ Speech Text

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence , they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, Black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check—a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.

We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only."

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

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 and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exhalted [sic], every hill and mountain shall be made 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, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

MLK Speech Reception

King’s stirring speech was immediately singled out as the highlight of the successful march.

James Reston of The New York Times wrote that the “pilgrimage was merely a great spectacle” until King’s turn, and James Baldwin later described the impact of King’s words as making it seem that “we stood on a height, and could see our inheritance; perhaps we could make the kingdom real.”

Just three weeks after the march, King returned to the difficult realities of the struggle by eulogizing three of the girls killed in the bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.

Still, his televised triumph at the feet of Lincoln brought favorable exposure to his movement, and eventually helped secure the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 . The following year, after the violent Selma to Montgomery march in Alabama, African Americans secured another victory with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 .

Over the final years of his life, King continued to spearhead campaigns for change even as he faced challenges by increasingly radical factions of the movement he helped popularize. Shortly after visiting Memphis, Tennessee, in support of striking sanitation workers, and just hours after delivering another celebrated speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” King was assassinated by shooter James Earl Ray on the balcony of his hotel room on April 4, 1968.

'I Have a Dream' Speech Legacy

Remembered for its powerful imagery and its repetition of a simple and memorable phrase, King’s “I Have a Dream” speech has endured as a signature moment of the civil rights struggle, and a crowning achievement of one of the movement’s most famous faces.

The Library of Congress added the speech to the National Recording Registry in 2002, and the following year the National Park Service dedicated an inscribed marble slab to mark the spot where King stood that day.

In 2016, Time included the speech as one of its 10 greatest orations in history.

HISTORY Vault: Black History

Watch acclaimed Black History documentaries on HISTORY Vault.

“I Have a Dream,” Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute . March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. National Park Service . JFK, A. Philip Randolph and the March on Washington. The White House Historical Association . The Lasting Power of Dr. King’s Dream Speech. The New York Times .

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History Resources

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech

By tim bailey, unit overview.

This unit is part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teaching Literacy through History resources, designed to align to the Common Core State Standards. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze and assess primary source material.

Over the course of five lessons, students will read, analyze, and gain a clear understanding of "I Have a Dream," a speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr., at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. The first four lessons require students to read excerpts from the speech "like a detective." Through summary organizers, practice, and discussion, they will master the technique of identifying key words, creating summaries of document sections and, as an assessment in the final lesson, writing an argumentative essay.

Unit Objectives

Students will be able to

• Read and demonstrate understanding of a complex document
• Identify the main ideas and synthesize and draw logical inferences from the document
• Summarize the author’s words and restate the author’s meaning in their own words
• Write an argumentative essay using evidence from the document to support their ideas

Number of Class Periods

The unit is structured for 5 class sessions, but Lessons 1 and 2 can be combined and Lessons 3 and 4 can be combined. In addition, the essay could be assigned as a take-home exercise.

Grade Level(s)

Common core state standards.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.2: Determine the central ideas or information of a primary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social studies.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.5: Analyze how a text uses structure to emphasize key points or advance an explanation or analysis.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Historical Background

On August 28, 1963, approximately a quarter million people converged on Washington, DC. They came from all over the United States to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. Many traveled for days—and at great personal risk—to participate. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was one of the largest political rallies in history. There were fears of violence, but the huge crowd remained peaceful as they marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.

The last speech of the day was given by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King drew on history—including the Declaration of Independence’s promise of equality and Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation—to highlight how far African Americans were from reaching the American ideal. He urged his audience to demand equal opportunities and access to jobs and facilities and housing and voting. But what transformed the speech into one of the most memorable in American history for the millions of Americans watching and listening in Washington, on radio and on television, was the recurring phrase "I have a dream," repeated eight times with increasing urgency—a dream of what could happen in the nation as well as a more intimate dream of what his own children could achieve when freedom rang everywhere in the United States.

Students will read the first section of the "I Have a Dream" speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963. In a step-by-step process they will identify key words employed by King and then summarize the text to demonstrate that they understand what King was saying.

• Understand what was explicitly stated in the speech
• Draw logical inferences
• Summarize a portion of the speech using the author’s words and then their own words
• Teacher Resource:  "I Have a Dream" Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (excerpts) . Source: Reprinted by arrangement with The Heirs to the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr., c/o Writers House as the proprietor New York, NY. Copyright: © 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. © renewed 1991 Coretta Scott King.
• Summary Organizer #1
• Overhead projector, Elmo projector, or similar device

Note: The first lesson is done as a whole-class exercise.

• Tell the students that they will be exploring what Martin Luther King, Jr., said in the "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Resist the temptation to provide more information as you want the students to develop ideas based solely on King’s words.
• Read aloud the excerpts from the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., and ask the students to read it silently to themselves. It is important for the students to experience a text as the writer meant it to be experienced—in this case as a speech before a large crowd.
• Tell the students that they will be analyzing the first selection from the document today and learning how to do in-depth analysis for themselves. The whole class will be going through this process together for the first section of the document.
• Pass out Summary Organizer #1, which includes the first section of the speech. Display the organizer in a format large enough for the whole class to see. Make certain students understand that the original text has been edited for this lesson. Explain the purpose and use of ellipses.
• "Share read" the text with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while you begin to read aloud, modeling prosody, inflection, and punctuation. Then ask the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while you continue to read aloud, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English language learners (ELL).
• Explain that the objective is to select "Key Words" from the first section and then use those words to create a brief summary of the text that gets at the gist of what Dr. King was saying.
• Guidelines for Selecting Key Words: Key Words are very important contributors to understanding the text. They are usually nouns or verbs. Don’t pick "connector" words ( are , is , the , and , so , etc.). The number of Key Words depends on the length of the original selection. This selection is 249 words long so you can pick up to ten Key Words. The students must know what their Key Words mean, so there will be opportunities to teach students how to use context clues, word analysis, and dictionary skills to discover word meanings.
• Ask the students to select up to ten words from the text that they believe are Key Words and write them down on their organizers.
• Survey the class to find out what the most popular choices were. After some discussion and with your guidance, the class should decide on ten Key Words. For example, let’s say that the class decides on the following words: freedom , Emancipation Proclamation (two words that together make up a single idea can be selected if it makes sense in context), hope , Negro , segregation , discrimination , shameful , Declaration of Independence , promise , and unalienable rights . Now, no matter which words the students had previously selected, have them write the words agreed upon by the class or chosen by you into the Key Word list.
• Explain that the class will use these Key Words to write a brief summary (one or two sentences) that demonstrates an understanding of what King was saying. This exercise should be a whole-class discussion-and-negotiation process. For example, "The Emancipation Proclamation brought hope, but segregation and discrimination are still part of Negro life. That is shameful because the Declaration of Independence promised all people unalienable rights." You might find that the class doesn’t need some of the Key Words, which will make the summary even more streamlined. This is part of the negotiation process. The final sentence(s) should be copied into the organizer.
• Now guide the students in putting the summary sentence(s) into their own words. Again, this is a class negotiation process. For example "African Americans were promised the same rights as everyone else, but that hasn’t happened yet."
• Wrap up: Discuss vocabulary that the students found confusing or difficult. You could have students use the back of their organizer or a separate vocabulary form to make a note of these words and their meaning.

Students will read the second section of the "I Have a Dream" speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963. In a step-by-step process they will identify key words employed by King and then summarize the text to demonstrate that they understand what King was saying.

• Summary Organizer #2

Note: For this lesson, the students will be working with partners and in small groups.

• Review what the class did in the previous lesson and what they decided was the gist of the first selection from King’s speech.
• Distribute Summary Organizer #2 and display a copy in a format large enough for the whole class to see. Tell the students that they will work on the second section of the document with partners and in small groups.
• Share read the second selection with the students as described in Lesson 1.
• Review the process of selecting Key Words, writing a summary of the text using those words, and then restating the summary in their own words to show their understanding of King’s words.
• Pair the students up and have them work together to select the best Key Words. This passage is 258 words, so they can choose up to ten words.
• Now put two pairs of students together. These four students will negotiate with each other to come up with their final ten Key Words. Be strategic in how you make your groups in order to ensure the most participation by all group members.
• Once the groups have selected their Key Words, each group will use those words to create a brief summary (one or two sentences) of what Martin Luther King was saying. During this process, try to make sure that everyone is contributing. It is very easy for one student to take control and for the other students to let them do so. All of the students should write their group’s negotiated sentence into their organizers.
• Ask groups to share out the summary sentences that they have created. This should start a teacher-led discussion that points out the qualities of the various responses. How successful were the groups at getting at King’s main idea, and were they careful to use the Key Words in doing so?
• Now direct the groups to restate their summary sentences in their own words. Again, this is a group negotiation process. After they have decided on a summary, it should be written into their organizers. Again, have the groups share out their responses and discuss the clarity and quality of the responses.
• Wrap up: Discuss vocabulary that the students found confusing or difficult. If you choose you could have students use the back of their organizer or separate vocabulary form to make a note of these words and their meaning.

Students will read the third section of the "I Have a Dream" speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963. In a step-by-step process they will identify key words employed by King and then summarize the text to demonstrate that they understand what King was saying.

• Summary Organizer #3

Note: For this lesson students will work individually unless you decide they still need the support of a group.

• Review what the class did in the previous two lessons and what they decided was the gist of the first two selections.
• Distribute Summary Organizer #3 with the third selection from King’s speech. You may decide to share read the third selection with the students as in prior lessons or have them read it silently to themselves.
• Review the process of selecting Key Words, writing a summary using the key words, and then restating the summary in the students’ own words to demonstrate their understanding of King’s words. This text is 237 words, so the students can pick up to ten words.
• After the students have worked through the three steps, have them share out their summaries in their own words and guide a class discussion of the meaning of the text.
• Wrap up: Discuss vocabulary that the students found confusing or difficult. If you choose you could have students use the back of their organizer or a separate vocabulary form to make a note of these words and their meaning.

Students will read the fourth section of the "I Have a Dream" speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963. In a step-by-step process they will identify key words employed by King and then summarize the text to demonstrate that they understand what King was saying.

• Summary Organizer #4

Note: Students will continue to work independently in this lesson.

• Review what the class did in the previous lessons and what they decided was the gist of the first three selections.
• Distribute Summary Organizer #4 with the fourth selection from King’s speech. You may decide to share read the text with the students as in prior lessons or have them read it silently to themselves.
• Review the process of selecting Key Words, writing a summary using the key words, and then restating the summary in the students’ own words to demonstrate their understanding of King’s words. There are 224 words in this selection, so the students can select eight or nine key words.
• After the students have worked through the three steps, have them share out their summaries in their own words and guide a class discussion of the meaning of King’s words.

The class will first review the meaning of each section of Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech. Second, the students will look closely at how Dr. King constructed his speech, particularly his choice of words. Finally, they will write about Dr. King’s speech in a short argumentative essay in which they support their statements with evidence taken directly from Martin Luther King’s own words.

• Synthesize the work of the prior four days
• Demonstrate an understanding of the meaning of the primary source
• Analyze the writing craft (speech construction, rhetorical style)
• Explain and defend whether they believe the craft and style makes the speech more effective
• Write an argumentative essay based on evidence in the text 
• Summary Organizers #1–4 from previous lessons
• The students should have the four Summary Organizers they completed in the previous lessons.
• Review the work from the previous lessons by asking the students to provide a summary in their own words of each of the four text selections. This is done as a class discussion. Write these short negotiated sentences on the overhead or similar device so the whole class can see them. These summaries should reinforce the students’ understanding of the meaning of King’s speech.
• Discuss with the students Dr. King’s rhetorical style as well as how the construction of the speech affects its meaning. How does repeating certain phrases strengthen his point or focus his arguments? How does the construction help guide the audience?
• If the students do not have experience writing an argumentative essay, proceed with a short lesson on essay writing. Otherwise, have them write a short essay in response to one of the prompts in class or as an out-of-class assignment. Remind the students that they must back up any arguments they make with evidence taken directly from the text of King’s "I Have a Dream" speech. The first prompt is designed to be the easiest.
• What is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream, and according to Dr. King how could it become a reality?
• In his speech Dr. King says that "we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check." What does he mean by this and what, as he sees it, will be the result of this action?
• In his speech, how does Dr. King respond to the question, "When will you be satisfied?" Explain both the reason for this question put to civil rights activists and Dr. King’s response.

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HISTORIC ARTICLE

Aug 28, 1963 ce: martin luther king jr. gives "i have a dream" speech.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington, a large gathering of civil rights protesters in Washington, D.C., United States.

Social Studies, Civics, U.S. History

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On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., took the podium at the March on Washington  and addressed the gathered crowd, which numbered 200,000 people or more. His speech became famous for its recurring phrase “I have a dream.” He imagined a future in which “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners" could "sit down together at the table of brotherhood,” a future in which his four children are judged not "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." King's moving speech became a central part of his legacy. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, in 1929. Like his father and grandfather, King studied theology and became a Baptist  pastor . In 1957, he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC ), which became a leading civil rights organization. Under King's leadership, the SCLC promoted nonviolent resistance to segregation, often in the form of marches and boycotts. In his campaign for racial equality, King gave hundreds of speeches, and was arrested more than 20 times. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his "nonviolent struggle for civil rights ." On April 4, 1968, King was shot and killed while standing on a balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

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October 19, 2023

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Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech in its entirety

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963, as part of the March on Washington. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963, as part of the March on Washington.

Monday marks Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Below is a transcript of his celebrated "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. NPR's Talk of the Nation aired the speech in 2010 — listen to that broadcast at the audio link above.

Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders gather before a rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington. National Archives/Hulton Archive via Getty Images hide caption

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check.

Code Switch

The power of martin luther king jr.'s anger.

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, Black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

Martin Luther King is not your mascot

We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

Civil rights protesters march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. Kurt Severin/Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

Throughline

Bayard rustin: the man behind the march on washington (2021).

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.

And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only.

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

How The Voting Rights Act Came To Be And How It's Changed

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. 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 and ghettos of our Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

People clap and sing along to a freedom song between speeches at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Express Newspapers via Getty Images hide caption

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made 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, and all flesh shall see it together.

Nikole Hannah-Jones on the power of collective memory

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This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.

Correction Jan. 15, 2024

A previous version of this transcript included the line, "We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now." The correct wording is "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now."

I Have A Dream Speech

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What are the facets of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream? Are these realistic or idealistic? Can they be accomplished?

Dr. King advocated for nonviolent responses to police brutality. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, Michael Brown, and other acts of police brutality, what might Dr. King advise? What would he say in a speech on the subject?

In what ways is “I Have a Dream” a speech for a specific time and place, and in what ways is it universal? Does reading it more than a half century later change its meaning and if so, how?

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Racism — I Have a Dream

Essays on I Have a Dream

I have a dream essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: "i have a dream": martin luther king jr.'s vision of racial equality and social justice.

Thesis Statement: This essay analyzes Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, exploring its powerful message of racial equality, its impact on the civil rights movement, and its enduring relevance in the fight for social justice.

• Introduction
• The Context of the Civil Rights Movement: Racial Segregation and Discrimination
• Martin Luther King Jr.'s Leadership: The Role of Nonviolent Protest
• The "I Have a Dream" Speech: Key Themes and Rhetorical Devices
• Impact on the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Legislation and Social Change
• Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.: Progress and Ongoing Challenges
• Global Influence: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Message Beyond U.S. Borders

Essay Title 2: The Rhetorical Genius of "I Have a Dream": An In-Depth Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Persuasive Techniques

Thesis Statement: This essay dissects Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech from a rhetorical perspective, examining the persuasive techniques, imagery, and linguistic strategies that contributed to its enduring impact on the civil rights movement and American society.

• Rhetorical Devices and Techniques: Metaphors, Repetition, and Alliteration
• The Power of Imagery: Creating Vivid Mental Pictures for the Audience
• Appealing to Emotions: Connecting with the Hearts and Minds of Listeners
• Effective Use of Anaphora: "I Have a Dream" as a Literary Masterpiece
• Public Speaking as a Catalyst for Social Change: Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr.
• Contemporary Application: Rhetorical Strategies in Modern Activism

Essay Title 3: Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech: Historical Significance, Cultural Impact, and Ongoing Struggles for Equality

Thesis Statement: This essay examines the historical significance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, its profound cultural impact, and the persistent challenges and aspirations for equality that continue to shape American society.

• The March on Washington: A Milestone in Civil Rights History
• "I Have a Dream" as a Cultural Symbol: Iconic Moments in American History
• Contemporary Racial Injustice: Continuing Struggles for Equality and Justice
• Teaching the Legacy: Education and Awareness about Martin Luther King Jr.'s Vision
• Intersectionality and Inclusivity: Expanding the Dream for All Communities
• Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream in the 21st Century: Challenges and Aspirations

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Mlk's "I Have a Dream": Analysis and Legacy

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Speech by Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream: Rhetorical Analysis

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August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr.

The "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, holds immense historical significance. It took place at a crucial time in American history, amidst the Civil Rights Movement, when racial segregation and systemic discrimination deeply divided the nation. The speech was delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a symbolic location that underscored the importance of equality and justice for all Americans. Dr. King's powerful words resonated with the thousands gathered, as well as with millions of people around the world who watched the speech on television. The historical context of the "I Have a Dream" speech reflects the struggle for civil rights and racial equality during the 1960s. African Americans faced systemic oppression and were denied basic human rights, including the right to vote, access to education, and equal opportunities. Dr. King's speech called for an end to racial injustice and appealed for a united nation where individuals would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is renowned for its effective use of rhetorical devices, which amplified the impact of his message and made it resonate deeply with the audience. Some of the main rhetorical devices employed in the speech include: 1. Anaphora: Dr. King masterfully used anaphora, the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, to create a powerful and memorable rhythm. The repeated phrase "I have a dream" served as a rallying cry and emphasized the vision of a better future. For example, he states, "I have a dream that one day...," highlighting the aspirations for equality and justice. 2. Parallelism: Through parallelism, Dr. King presented his ideas in a balanced and symmetrical manner, reinforcing his message. He skillfully employed parallel structure when he said, "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice." 3. Metaphors and vivid imagery: Dr. King employed metaphors and vivid imagery to convey his message with emotional impact. For instance, he described racial injustice as "sweltering with the heat of injustice" and expressed the hope that one day, his children would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

1. Civil Rights Movement: The speech became an iconic symbol of the Civil Rights Movement, galvanizing support and inspiring activists to fight for racial equality. Its powerful message of unity, justice, and nonviolence resonated deeply with individuals and communities, mobilizing them to challenge segregation and discrimination. 2. Legislation and Legal Progress: The speech played a significant role in shaping public opinion and influencing legislative action. It helped pave the way for landmark civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which aimed to dismantle segregation and protect voting rights for African Americans. 3. Global Impact: "I Have a Dream" transcended national boundaries and became an international symbol of hope and resistance against oppression. Its universal themes of equality and human rights resonated with people facing similar struggles around the world, inspiring social and political movements advocating for justice and equality.

"I Have a Dream" speech is an iconic and significant piece of American history that holds immense importance in understanding the civil rights movement and the quest for racial equality. Writing an essay about this speech allows us to delve into its profound impact and the enduring power of its message. Here are a few reasons why the speech is important to explore: Historical Significance: King delivered the speech on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This event marked a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement and showcased the collective struggle for equality. Inspirational Message: The speech is filled with powerful imagery, compelling metaphors, and an unwavering vision of a future free from racial discrimination. It continues to inspire and mobilize individuals in their fight for justice and equality. Cultural Impact: "I Have a Dream" has become a cultural touchstone, representing the aspirations of millions and serving as a rallying cry for social change. It resonates not only within the United States but also globally. Artistry and Oratory Skills: King's eloquence, delivery, and the poetic nature of his speech make it a masterpiece of oratory. Examining the rhetorical techniques employed can deepen our understanding of effective communication and persuasive speech. Relevance Today: The themes addressed in the speech, such as racial equality, justice, and unity, remain relevant in contemporary society. Exploring the speech allows us to reflect on progress made, ongoing challenges, and the work that still needs to be done. In conclusion, writing an essay about King's "I Have a Dream" speech provides an opportunity to study its historical, cultural, and inspirational significance, while also reflecting on its enduring relevance in the pursuit of a more just and equal society.

“Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.” “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”

1. Vail, M. (2006). The" Integrative" Rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr.'s" I Have a Dream" Speech. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 9(1), 51-78. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/26/article/198657/summary) 2. Sweetman, J., Leach, C. W., Spears, R., Pratto, F., & Saab, R. (2013). “I have a dream”: A typology of social change goals. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 1(1). (https://www.psycharchives.org/en/item/905f3e6c-a188-49cf-9ac6-9d14ed2d8b59) 3. Yogeeswaran, K., Verkuyten, M., Osborne, D., & Sibley, C. G. (2018). “I have a dream” of a colorblind nation? Examining the relationship between racial colorblindness, system justification, and support for policies that redress inequalities. Journal of Social Issues, 74(2), 282-298. (https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/josi.12269) 4. Lei, E. V., & Miller, K. D. (1999). Martin Luther King, Jr.'s" I Have a Dream" in Context: Ceremonial Protest and African American Jeremiad. College English, 62(1), 83-99. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/378900) 5. Weitzel, A. (1994). King's “I have a dream”; speech: A case study of incorporating orality in rhetorical criticism. Communication Reports, 7(1), 50-56. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08934219409367583) 6. Miller, W. J. (2015). Origins of the Dream: Hughes's Poetry and King's Rhetoric. (https://academic.oup.com/florida-scholarship-online/book/15934) 7. Alvarez, A. (1988). Martin Luther King's" I Have a Dream" The Speech Event as Metaphor. Journal of Black Studies, 18(3), 337-357. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/002193478801800306) 8. Card, M. M. (2018). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s" I Have a Dream" Speech: An Exploration and Analysis of Personal, Cultural, and Collective Complexes in the Foundation of the Dream and the Life of Dr. King. Journal of Heart Centered Therapies, 21(2), 3-28. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA569457158&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=15205495&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Eb7defeea)

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Law Day Essay Contest 2024

Voices of democracy.

The CBA congratulates this year’s Law Day Essay Contest winner, Luisa Villasenor! For the second year, the CBA recognized Law Day with a civics education essay contest for students across Colorado. Villasenor, an 11th grader at Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood, was awarded the top prize in the high school category. Her essay, reprinted below, responds to the prompt, “What is freedom of speech? Write about a specific speech in US history when a person used their voice to effect change.”

How “I Have a Dream” Changed Everything

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right that is valued in the United States and protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. It allows people to express their opinions and beliefs without fear of censorship or government reprisals. This right enables an open exchange of ideas, empowers individuals to challenge the status quo, and contributes to social progress. Throughout history, many people have used their voice to bring about change and promote a more just and equal society.

In the United States, freedom of speech is a cornerstone of democracy, and it is essential for the functioning of a free and open society. Without the ability to freely express opinions and ideas, progress and social change would be severely hindered. It is through the open exchange of ideas that societies are able to grow, evolve, and address issues of inequality and injustice.

One of the most influential figures in American history is undoubtedly Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a renowned civil rights leader who delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech for jobs and freedom in Washington, DC on August 28, 1963. Dr. King was a champion for racial equality and an end to segregation in the United States, using his powerful voice to inspire hope, ignite change, and galvanize individuals into action. With more than 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial (census.gov), his speech resonated deeply with the nation, as he passionately articulated a vision of a future where individuals would be judged by their character, not their skin color. In calling for an eradication of racism, discrimination, and inequality, Dr. King urged Americans to unite in the pursuit of a more equitable and inclusive society. This speech united individuals from all backgrounds in the pursuit of a more equitable society, showcasing his ability to inspire hope and ignite change through his unwavering commitment to racial equality and justice.

The enduring impact of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech lies in its universal appeal and demonstrates a profound resonance across diverse audiences. King’s iconic speech exemplifies the power of words to inspire and ignite change. Through the masterful use of imagery, such as his vision of children “not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” King illustrates a vivid picture of a future founded on equality and unity. His words, like a symphony of justice, echo in the hearts of individuals from all backgrounds, transcending racial divides and awakening a shared desire for a better world. With each repetition of “I have a dream,” King’s message gains momentum, fueling the flames of a movement toward freedom, justice, and equality for all. By harnessing the universal values of dignity and fairness, Dr. King galvanizes a nation to join hands in pursuit of a society where every individual is judged not by their outward appearance, but by the richness of their humanity. In another example King says, “Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.” This phrase is an invitation to freedom and equality everywhere, and a clarion call to combat segregation in the United States. The resonating power of Dr. King’s speech lies in its ability to unite individuals from diverse backgrounds behind a shared vision of a more equitable and inclusive society, showcasing his unwavering commitment to inspire hope and ignite change in the pursuit of racial equality and justice.

The iconic speech of King’s “I Have a Dream” stands as a powerful illustration of the transformative influence of free speech within a democratic society. By asserting his right to speak out against racial injustice and oppression, King shines a spotlight on the deep-rooted racism and discrimination that pervaded American society. His impassioned words serve as a rallying cry, urging individuals to confront their biases, resist institutional discrimination, and actively contribute to the creation of a more inclusive and equitable social order. King’s speech reverberates throughout a generation, galvanizing activists, leaders, and ordinary citizens to unite in the struggle against racism and advocate for civil rights and social justice. King’s iconic speech not only highlights the transformative power of speech in a democratic society by shedding light on racial injustice, but also underscores the crucial role of freedom of expression in driving positive societal change and advancing principles of justice and equality.

The unmistakable honesty and clarity of King’s word choice in his speech reinforces the critical role of free speech in fostering a healthy democratic environment. The freedom to voice opinions, challenge authority, and effect positive transformation is fundamental to the essence of democracy. King’s adept use of rhetoric ignited activity that brought about substantial advancements in the civil rights movement within the United States.

His enduring legacy serves as a poignant testament to the dynamic impact of free speech and the necessity of utilizing one’s voice to champion principles of justice, equality, and human rights, thereby inspiring future generations to pursue social change through the power of expression. King articulates his resounding belief in the power of free speech to drive positive social change through the acknowledgment of the challenges that come with safeguarding this fundamental right, particularly in contentious issues like hate speech and misinformation that can harm marginalized communities.

It is equally important to recognize that freedom of speech is not without its challenges. There are often debates and discussions about the boundaries of free speech, especially when it comes to hate speech, which incites violence, and spreads misinformation. Examples of hate speech during King’s time are that of Bull O’Connor, Alabama Governor George Wallace, and others who publicly sided with the Ku Klux Klan in antagonistic rallies against King and other civil rights’ demonstrators. While it is crucial to protect the right to express opinions, it is also important to consider the impact that certain forms of speech can have on marginalized communities and the potential harm that it can cause, as seen in the archived footage of civil right marchers being arrested and beaten or bitten by police dogs. While freedom of speech is a fundamental right essential for the functioning of a democratic society, it is imperative to address the challenges it poses, especially in regard to hate speech and its potential harm to marginalized communities.

Freedom of speech is a vital right that is fundamental to the functioning of a democratic society. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech serves as a powerful example of the impact that free speech can have in inspiring, uniting, and mobilizing people toward a common goal. It is through the exercise of this right that individuals are able to challenge the status quo, advocate for change, and contribute to the betterment of society. As we continue to navigate the complexities of free speech, it is important to uphold this fundamental right while also being mindful of the responsibilities that come with it.

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Today’s Campus Protest Crackdowns Are All Too Familiar to Me

I lived through a similar college crisis after 9/11. the lessons of that era are urgent..

As the student-run, pro-Palestinian protest encampments at Columbia University spread across the country, they have drawn increasing scrutiny from politicians and media figures who want to see them crushed. Most recently, GOP Sens. Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley made a ludicrous call to send in the National Guard to disperse the protestors. Though absurd, the idea was very much in keeping with the far right’s lust for using violence against dissent . But if we take a step back from this immediate controversy, we should see that what is unfolding on campuses is nothing new. It’s merely the latest iteration of a battle over who can say what about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And you do not have to endorse every strategic or rhetorical move of the protestors to recognize that the right has dramatically escalated its effort—which stretches back more than two decades to the immediate post-9/11 period—to use public pressure to shame, silence, and destroy critics of Israeli and American policy.

I started a Ph.D. program focusing on Middle East politics a week or so before 9/11. It didn’t take long before the patriotic fervor that enveloped the United States in the aftermath of those horrific attacks turned into calls to fire professors who violated the new codes of nationalist correctness that were informally imposed in the years following the disaster. What conservatives now decry as “ cancel culture ” was standard operating procedure in the early 2000s for right-wing organizations. In 2005, for example, University of Colorado professor of ethnic studies Ward Churchill became the target of a nationwide campaign calling for his dismissal after an essay he had written after 9/11—which used needlessly incendiary language to make a bog-standard argument about the attacks being blowback for U.S. foreign policy—went viral. Churchill was later fired for plagiarism , allegations of which would never have surfaced without the preceding national media firestorm.

The right put real weight into this effort, including creating the organization Campus Watch, started in 2002 by Daniel Pipes (who has been arguing for more than 20 years that the path to peace runs through ruthlessly crushing the Palestinians and then forcing them to “ lose hope ”), then the director of the Middle East Forum. While apologists said that they were merely documenting what gets said and written about the Middle East on American campuses, anyone who directly experienced being targeted by the group can attest that the ultimate goal was to build pressure on universities to fire or refuse tenure to high-profile critics of Israel and American foreign policy.

If you can make tenuring someone a big enough headache, then colleges might ultimately prefer to pay one-time settlements to aggrieved faculty members rather than deal with complaints about them, particularly from deep-pocketed donors, for 30 more years. Campus Watch compiled lists of professors, by institution, with short articles documenting things that they had said or written about Israel or the “War on Terror.” Once a few well-known professors met professional doom as a result of these efforts, it had a chilling effect on the willingness of scholars at other institutions to speak out or even to publish certain kinds of research. That was the point. The relentless unpleasantness of dealing with such people was a major motivation behind my decision not to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict professionally.

This was not an abstract fear. One of the first classes I ever taught was a discussion section for a large International Relations of the Middle East course at the University of Pennsylvania that was taught by my eventual dissertation adviser. On the first day of class, he asked everyone why they were taking the course, and one student said, “I want to see how the Middle East is taught.” That person ended up in my discussion section and made everyone’s lives a living hell for four months, not because his beliefs were particularly unusual but because he refused to let any kind of discussion unfold without aggressively advancing the Israeli far right’s position, to the point where he repeatedly left other students in tears. He eventually told me that he had been asked to do this by Campus Watch in an effort to document whatever the professor—a prominent liberal, Jewish supporter of the two-state solution—was saying in class. As a second-year graduate student with no professional power, I very much did not want to end up in the crosshairs of Campus Watch, so I bent over backward, in retrospect perhaps too far, to ensure that this student felt like he could say whatever he wanted in my section.

This effort was far from limited to Penn. And Columbia in particular is not a newcomer to being at the center of national controversy about free speech as it relates to Israel and the Middle East. Twenty years ago, the David Project produced a documentary called Columbia Unbecoming , which attacked several Columbia professors, including Joseph Massad (also at the center of controversy today ), accusing them of racism and bias against Jews and other students who disagreed with them in class. Cancel-culture warrior du jour Bari Weiss was heavily involved as an undergraduate, and while she denied calling specific professors racist or seeking to have them dismissed, it would take a willful suspension of disbelief to think that the purpose was neither to silence them nor to harm their career prospects.

Massad’s tenure application became a national controversy, and while he received his promotion, efforts to get him fired have begun anew after he published an article last year for Electronic Intifada that critics argued painted the Hamas attackers in a positive light. (The name of that publication has perhaps contributed to the controversy.) Massad naturally disagrees with that assessment of his piece. Others, like DePaul University political scientist Norman Finkelstein , were denied tenure or saw job offers rescinded. Steven Salaita’s position in the American Indian Studies program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was withdrawn after some offensive tweets of his surfaced. In both cases the universities were forced to offer substantial financial settlements. These were extreme examples, but for every national news story like them there were likely countless instances of universities quietly passing on someone whose positions on Palestine might have ruffled feathers.

Today, efforts to intimidate aren’t limited to faculty. The explosion of social media has made it possible to target individual students participating in protests or other actions. To choose one example, the New York law firm Davis Polk rescinded offers of employment to several Harvard and Columbia law students for signing a letter that placed blame on Israel for Oct. 7. Harvard donor and repeat Twitter main character Bill Ackman led the call to blacklist students who committed anti-Israel thought-crimes, an effort that was applauded by a number of other titans of industry and commerce. Today, this crowd is calling for Columbia protestors to be ineligible for loan forgiveness, expelled , arrested , or to meet the wrath of the National Guard. One gets the sense that they would not be terribly unhappy if another Kent State unfolded in New York City, because assaulting, maiming, and running over protestors has become a shared dream on the American far right. And if this is not cancel culture, then the term genuinely has no meaning.

The goalposts have also moved significantly. Today, students and faculty are the subject of a national pressure campaign to redefine antisemitism to include things like “ anti-Zionism ” and slogans with complicated and contested meanings like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” And while I am troubled by the way that Zionism has become a pejorative on the left, the effort to effectively outlaw or even criminalize opposition to Zionism is outrageous and extremely dangerous. That also includes the asymmetric bans of campus groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace at Columbia and elsewhere. And it is very hard to watch people who not long ago turned J.K. Rowling into an international martyr for free speech celebrating the destruction of lives and careers of people who signed a problematic statement or who don’t believe in or support Israel’s destruction of Gaza, the occupation, the settler movement, and similar projects that subjugate and immiserate Palestinians.

The real issues involved in the campus speech battles are actually much more complex than anyone in this debate would like to admit. Colleges and universities are not just giant free speech zones where anything goes. They are also workplaces for faculty and staff and literal homes for hundreds of thousands of students. I would not want to be the administrator tasked with navigating the often incompatible demands of employment law, academic freedom, free speech rights, and community standards, especially not in the midst of a heated controversy that places all of the unresolved tensions over campus speech front and center.

But let’s be clear: Most people who have turned Columbia into a national lightning rod couldn’t care less about the human beings who live and work there or the very real challenges of making everyone on campus feel safe, heard, and free. They are heaping scorn on the encampment not because they oppose civil disobedience but because the protestors represent the leading edge of a generational change in attitudes about Israel. And I can guarantee that most critics calling for the heads of Columbia students for the terrible crime of camping out on their own university’s lawn were enthusiastically in favor of , for example, trucker convoys laying siege to major cities in 2021 to protest vaccine mandates. The bottom line is that to forestall the coming reckoning with 40 years of failed, unjust policy, Israel’s defenders want to criminalize it, to cast Palestinians out of the public sphere and hound them until—despairing of the impact of their activism on their life and career prospects—they give up.

And the message from the protestors is and should be very clear: That’s not happening.