In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. 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 life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.īut one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. 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. 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.įive score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Read the text of King's speech, from the National Archives below. After a pause, King said, 'I still have a dream,' and launched into the famous oration that's known today.

17 Quotes to Honor Martin Luther King Jr.Ībout halfway through the speech, singer Mahalia Jackson urged King to tell the audience 'about the dream,' referencing his Detroit speech, according to the Constitution Center.

Broadway's Grantham Coleman: Julliard Taught Me There's No One Way to Act.Although the words ' I have a dream,' are most widely known for being part of his August 1963, speech, King first spoke them months earlier in Detroit, according to CNN. More than 200,000 people turned out to demonstrate at the Lincoln Memorial and hear King speak. Kennedy, during which King urged the president to sign a second Emancipation Proclamation to eliminate racial segregation, the March on Washington for jobs and freedom took place on August 28, 1963. After meeting with then-President John F. King's pursuit of equal rights began at an early age, and by the time he delivered his famous speech, he was already well-known for his activism. His assassination ended his life at the age of 39, but if he was alive today, the civil rights icon would have been 91 years old. On Monday, Americans nationwide will remember the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., and, for some, that includes remembering the civil rights leader's most famous speech, 'I Have a Dream.'Īlthough King's birthday is January 15, it's celebrated on the third Monday in January because of the Uniform Holiday Act.

I have a dream speech text