History | Famous Speech: Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Council of Christian Leaders, gave a lecture on "I Have a Dream" at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Editor's note: This speech is often considered one of the greatest in American history. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed more than 200,000 civil rights supporters during the March in Washington. It was a march for work and freedom. Mass rallies were held in support of the civil and economic rights of black Americans. The march was an important moment for the civil rights movement and was credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In his speech, King first spoke about President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and went on to describe the rights that black Americans still enjoy without being given, even 100 years later.

Main speech:

"Today, I am pleased to join you in the greatest free demonstration in the history of our country, which will go down in history.

Five years ago, a great President of the United States, who today stands in his symbolic shadow, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This extraordinary decree gave a great ray of hope to the millions of black slaves who had been burned by unjust fires. Ending the long night of slavery was like a joyful dawn.

But 100 years later, blacks still have no freedom. A hundred years later, black lives are still severely weakened by segregated handcuffs and the shackles of discrimination. A hundred years later, blacks lived on a lonely, impoverished island surrounded by vast material wealth. A hundred years later, blacks are still emaciated in corners of American society and find themselves in exile on their own land.

So we are here today to dramatize a shameful situation. In a sense, we came to our nation's capital to cash in on a check. As the founders of our republic wrote the grandiose words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a check that every American could cash. This check is a promise to all men. Yes, both blacks and whites will have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It's clear today that the U.S. is already in arrears with this check when it comes to her people of color. Instead of delivering on that promise, the United States gave the Blacks a blank check. The check that came back said "insufficient funds". But we refuse to believe that the banks of justice are bankrupt, and we refuse to believe that there is no money in the vast vaults of opportunity in this country. So we cash this check, which will give us the wealth of liberty and justice as demanded.

"We seek the sunny path of racial justice"

We have also come to this holy place to remind America of its importance now. There is no time now to calm down or take slow-moving sedative medications. It is time to deliver on the promise of democracy. It is time to rise from the dark valley of apartheid. We seek the sunny path of racial justice. It is time to elevate our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the rocks of brotherhood. It is time to do justice for all of God's children. It would be fatal if the state ignored the urgency of the moment. This black man longed for more of the sweltering heat that would not pass until the fresh autumn of freedom and equality arrived.

The year 1963 is not over. This is just the beginning. Some hope that black people need to vent a little and will now be satisfied. If the country returns to normal functioning, they will suddenly wake up. Until blacks were granted citizenship, there would be neither peace nor peace in America. The whirlwind of resistance will continue to shake the foundations of our nation. When justice comes, we seek a bright day.

But I must say one thing to the people standing at the warm doorway to the Palace of Justice. In seeking the place we deserve, we must not act wrongly. Let us not drink bitter wine and the cup of hatred in order to satisfy our desire for freedom. We must always fight on the height of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to be transformed by physical violence. We must rise to great heights again and again to satisfy the strength of the body and the power of the soul. A remarkable new armed force swept through the black community. This must not lead us to distrust all whites. Because many of our white brothers, as they see in the venue today, have begun to realize that their future is inextricably linked to our future. They have realized that their freedom must be closely related to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. As we move forward, we must guarantee that we will always move forward. We can't turn back.

Some are asking those who swear civil rights: "When will you be satisfied?" We will never be satisfied. As long as black people are victims of unspeakable police brutality, we will never be satisfied. As long as our bodies are tired from travel and can't find rooms in motels on the highway and hotels in the city, we can't be satisfied. As long as blacks simply move from smaller slums to larger slums, we will never be satisfied. As long as our children are stripped of their pride, we will never be satisfied. We will never be satisfied when we are stripped of our dignity by signs that say "white only." As long as blacks in Mississippi can't vote, and blacks in New York don't think there's anything to vote for, we won't be satisfied. No, no, we are not satisfied.

"You were a veteran of great trouble"

I know that some of you have come here from great trials and tribulations. Some of you have just come out of a cramped cell. Some of you come from regions where the pursuit of freedom has suffered storms of persecution and police brutality. You are veterans who have suffered greatly. Continue to work with the conviction that unfair suffering makes people stronger. Back to Mississippi. Back to Alabama. Back in South Carolina. Back to Georgia. Back in Louisiana. Back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities. Knowing this can and will change. Let's not roll in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that even as we face difficulties 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 believe that these truths are self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the Red Hills of Georgia, the son of a former slave and the son of a former slave owner will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even Mississippi, a state of injustice, a state of cruelty, will become an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream, one day in Alabama, where there are vicious racists, where the governor's mouth is full of words that stop and try to revoke our rights; one day, in Alabama, black little boys and black girls will be able to hold hands with white little boys and white girls and become sisters and brothers.

I have a dream that one day every low valley will be lifted up and every high hill will be razed to the ground. Rough places should be straightened, and curved places should be straightened. The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will be seen together.

That is our hope. It was my belief to return to the South. With this belief, we will be able to shape the stone of hope from the mountain of sorrow. With this conviction, we will be able to turn the disturbing voice of our country into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this belief, we will be able to work together, pray together, fight together, go to jail together, stand up for freedom together, because we know that one day we will be free. This day will be the day when all children of God can sing in new meanings, "My motherland, yours, the sweet land of freedom, I sing for you." The land of my father's death, the proud land of pilgrims, from every mountainside, let freedom ring. "If America is to be a great nation, it has to be a reality.

So let freedom ring out on the wonderful hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring out from the majestic mountains of New York. Let the voices of freedom in allegheny Heights, Pennsylvania ring out! Let freedom ring out from Colorado's snow-capped Rocky Mountains! Let freedom ring out on California's curvy hillsides! But that's not all; let the freedom of the Georgian Stone Mountains ring out! Let freedom ring out from Tennessee's Lookout Mountain! Let freedom ring out from every hill and mole mound in Mississippi. From each mountainside, let the free ring.

When this happens, when we let freedom ring out, when we let it ring through every village, every little village, every state and every city, we will be able to hasten that day when all the children of God, black and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to hold hands and sing in the spirit of the ancient black, "Finally free!" Finally free! Thank Almighty God that we are finally free! ”

© 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; © Updated 1991 Corretta Scott King