'I Have A Dream' - Four Simple Words That Galvanized A Nation

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During his short but effective life as preacher and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. gave many speeches. However the one that seemed to resonate with the entire country, race notwithstanding, was the one he delivered fifty years ago on August 28th, 1963, whilst standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

It was a hot summer day. Over 250,000 people, rich & poor, black & white, had amalgamated at the country's capital to stage a peaceful protest against the discrimination, joblessness and the economic inequality being endured by African Americans a century after the Emancipation Proclamation, the first step toward ending slavery, had been declared. The protestors listened attentively as the speakers talked about the various issues. Millions more from all across the country sat glued to their televisions.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the last to speak. As usual, he delivered an eloquent and passionate speech for about 15 minutes. Then, just as the crowd thought he was winding down, he uttered the inspiring words that ring true in everyone's ears till today:

'I have a dream, 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 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 . . .'

As the live spectators and the ones on television watched mesmerized, the civil rights leader outlined everything he wished America would be. When he finished his address with this poignant sentence:

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty. We are free at last!",

many in the audience wept openly, whilst others just sat quietly as if, waiting for more. Then suddenly, the silence was shattered by an outburst of applause and cheers!

What is interesting is that according to people that were close to the civil rights leader, the night prior to the march, his closest aide Wyatt Tee Walker had advised him not to do what he called 'the dream thing'. Calling it 'trite' and a 'cliche', he believed that Dr. King had used it too many times, prior to this.Taking heed of his advice, the civil rights leader took it out from his official written speech.

No one is sure why he decided to add it back in. Some think that he was prompted by Mahalia Jackson his favorite gospel singer who was standing close to him and kept urging him to tell people about his dream, others believe it was his own impromptu decision. But whatever it was, it worked! Every American regardless of color could relate to the words because they were essentially everyone's 'American Dream(s)'. Not only that, over the years it has also inspired people all over the country and world to believe that dreams no matter how impossible they may seem, do come true!

Whether it was the electrifying speech that did it or the sight of so many people on the streets of the nation's capital, the 1963 March on Washington as it is now called, is often considered a pivotal event in the country's civil rights movement history. That's because shortly after in 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, following it up a year later, with the Voting Rights Act.

If Dr. King had been alive today, he would have been amazed at how far the country has progressed since that fateful day in Washington D.C., a mere 50 years ago and how people are still fulfilling his 'dream' by continuing to aspire for a better nation. The anniversary of this pivotal event is being celebrated in the nation's capital all week, with marches and speeches to talk about what else we could 'dream' about to make America a better country. The grand finale will be a speech delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by the country's first African American leader, President Barack Obama, and will be followed by a bell-ringing ceremony at 3.00pm, to honor the exact time when Dr. King gave us the inspiration and courage to dream about a better future!

Resources: Scholastic.com, democracynow.org, huffingtonpost.com

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258 Comments
  • melanyf
    melanyfabout 11 years
    Love that story
    • pabr
      pabrover 11 years
      I learned How important the I Have A Dream speech is, also that the speech took place 50 years ago and that black people were treated so poor. I found it interesting that the speech was only 50 years ago and that white people got treated better than black people. Why did people treat people differently by there skin color?
      • luki
        lukiover 11 years
        I learned that the four words "I have A dream" still rings in peoples heads, a young citizen took part of the walk with blacks and whites in 1963, and people all over the country came to the same place. what interested me was thousands of people came to the speech and there was a big walk over civil rights. One question, how can four words still ring in peoples minds TODAY ??????
      • kj214
        kj214over 11 years
        love that day
        • resw
          reswover 11 years
          I learned that marten Luther king gave every one a inspiration I also learned that the crowd was winding down and then only 3 words rung in there ears and winded them back up " I have a dream" I also learned that it was celabrated at the nations capital I liked that marten Luther king had the courage to show his dream and tell every body what he thought I also liked that marten Luther knew how to inspire people one question I have is I wonder when they changed the law of separating whites and African, Americans ? P.S marten Luther king inspires me!
          • Rebeccaover 11 years
            Cool
            • jolyemmya12
              jolyemmya12over 11 years
              awesome
              • #70 MYFAover 11 years
                If Martin Luther King had never made that speech I wouldn't be in school right now.
                • 5a8
                  5a8over 11 years
                  Dr. King was helpful because he never gave up on his dream.
                  • london123
                    london123about 11 years
                    dr. king always was a leader and now that he gone we have no leader except for Barack Obama
                  • courtneyb
                    courtneybover 11 years
                    he was a brave man for that, standing up there and saying how he felt not scared of the outcome.