I Had A Dream Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.

“Tell Them about the Dream, Martin!” by Drew Hansen explains the improvisation of Martin Luther King Jr. made in after the March on Washington leading to the his “I Have a Dream” speech that captivated the world. The article informs the reader about the idea of a person using a powerful phrase to highlight his optimism of racial discrimination ending, and wanting equality for all.

The marchers gathered at the Washington Monument before dawn as planned on August 28, 1963. At 11:30, 100,000 to 200,000 of them began marching towards the Lincoln Memorial singing “We Shall Overcome” (“The March on Washington” 12). At the memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered multiple speeches along with other African Americans about segregation and discrimination issues. During one of his speeches, King Jr. declared that “we will not hate you, but we cannot obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you…But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience, that we will win you in the process” (“Negro Protest Movement” 507). This statement by King Jr. describes his plans of further nonviolent protesting against “unjust laws” to convince others of the civil rights movement’s cause. He furthers this statement and elaborates his ideas in his infamous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

William E. Gladstone states” Justice delayed is justice denied.” Meaning when justice is not served in a timely manner, it means you receive any justice at all. In the” I have dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. he talks about the injustice people of color were receiving in the 1940s-60s. “Cairo: My city or Revolution” by Ahdaf Soueif tells of a family who lives under the rule of a dictator. And the story “Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi and talks about a woman in Tehran being discriminated against because of her gender. All of these texts give us instances where people were being denied freedom. I believe that freedom should be demanded rather than being given.

On April 28, 1963 over 200,00 Americans gathered at the Washington monument to protest cruelty that was being spread among our country. On that day, one of the most famous speeches of all American history was delivered. From that speech, America experienced a change that has brought us to where we are today. In the famous, “I have a dream” speech proclaimed by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., many types of rhetoric was utilized to try and stop the racial inequality that was occurring within our country at the time.

On August 28th, 1963, over 250,000 people joined Dr. King march at the Lincoln Memorial to hear his speech, “I Have a Dream” Powerful words being heard and documented as a historical event for civil rights. He introduces his speech as the greatest demonstration for freedom in all the United States of America. Dr. King opens with, “The negro still is not free, one-hundred years later the life of the negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimation.” Dr. King followed the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Believing that non-violent protesting was the ultimate weapon against racism.

    The Civil Rights Movement was a zealous and essential period in American History. The civil rights movement began in 1954 and was led by African Americans to outlaw racial discrimination against Blacks. One century after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, African Americans still observing segregation and various forms of oppression and “Jim Crow” laws. The nonviolent and civil disobedience protests were used by the civil rights activists to bring about change. Some significant leaders within the Black community were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,  Malcolm X, and W.E.B. Du Bois.

On August 28th 1963, Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, King confronts the mistreatment of the African American community and the lack of free will they contain in society. Throughout the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement took place, influenced by centuries of cruelty towards the African Americans.. The most influential speech in the modern era was said in front of thousands of Civil Rights activists who all shared a common goal; to fight for the respect and to be treated as equals within the United States.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was written and delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and remains one of the most historically influential and world-changing speeches of all time. Fifty-two years later, this speech is considered to be one of the best persuasive speeches ever delivered. Dr. King is not only attempting to persuade his audience to understand the plight of minorities in the United States, but he is also attempting to encourage a nation to change for the betterment of mankind. Through the effective use of several literary elements, Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech prompted Caucasian Americans to look closer at the country 's dismal record of civil rights for black Americans and other minorities.

The cynical cycle of enslavement has ravaged on throughout the history 's great civilizations; the victor holding reign over the defeated, the enslaved succumbing to the forces of bondage. There has always been, and always will be, a discord between peoples of different groups. Until the advent of modern democracy, the distraughted had no voice which to be heard by the masses. Democracy has paved a way for all citizens to have equality. In 1863, the United States of America joined other nations by emancipating those in bondage. Slavery had begun it’s way out in the modern world. However, due to years of indoctrination and social appropriation, there was a discord between those who were white and those who were colored. One hundred years after the emancipation proclamation was given, there was still social and systemic oppression and discrimination against colored people in American Society. Martin Luther King Jr. was an advocate during the Civil Rights Era who fought for the equal treatment of all people. In 1963 MLK gave his timeless “I have a Dream Speech” that sought to both help bring the end of systematic discrimination in America and to unify the country through love and peace.

On August 28, 1963 there was about 250,000 people who gathered in Washington D.C. to rally against political and social injustices African-Americans face at this time. This rally was meant to not only pressure congress into adopting civil rights legislation, but to also shed awareness to the continuing injustice even after the passing of the Emancipation Declaration . On its 53rd anniversary the march is remembered for the final speech, Martin Luther King Jr's, “I have a Dream.”

From 1954 to 1968 there was a Civil Rights movement changing African Americans rights in America. The civil right goals were to change the way blacks in America where treaded in schools, buses, bathrooms and other facility’s and to get equal rights from legislation. On January 14, 1963, Democratic Governor George Wallace was sworn in, giving his “Segregation” speech. In that same year on August 28 a man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lead the march on Washington D.C giving the “I Have a Dream speech”. The two speeches given in 1963 coincided to the civil rights but the speeches differed in both opinion and message. To explain this in a more thorough explanation, the terms Kairos, Ethos, Logos and Pathos will be used to define each compare and contrast.

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.” These notable words are a part of one of the most iconic speeches in American history. Given by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28th, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the “I Have a Dream” speech was a part of what he described as “the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” This speech, among many others given by others, would make King one of the nation’s most admired individuals. However, this positive notability would not exist until after his death. During his lifetime, the people’s opinion of him would fluctuate. This can be understood by examining his life, politics, and, most notably, his advocacy efforts for the advancement and equality of people of color.

In 1963 many events occurred that had a profound effect on the decade and the future of our country. First, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr a major civil rights leader, realized that with Kennedy as President and an unsympathetic congress, the chances of getting a civil rights bill passed into law were doomed. He decided in the summer of 1963, with the help of Urban league leaders and A. Philip Randolph‘s labor union, to publicize a march on Washington DC for freedom. Over 300,000 mostly black Americans came to the nation’s capital to make the world aware of the need for new civil rights laws to ensure that not only blacks, but all Americans would have equal political, social, and economic opportunities to succeed. This is where Rev. King gave the most famous of all civil rights speeches known as The “I Have a Dream” speech. That speech and the large turnout did much to make the nation aware that a change in the law was inevitable.

A little over 50 years ago, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a Dream Speech” in front of thousands addressing the racism in America. Though racism was a big issue in the United States during the 20th century, and may still be in a few areas today, he was not only addressing the problem of it, but the equality of men. In his speech he quoted words directly from the Declaration of Independence stating, “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” (King, Jr). Even though the United States was founded two whole centuries before the MLK’s speech, there was still an issue about the equality of some.

August 28th, 1963, 250,000 marchers stood in front of the Washington Monument to hear a message. A message from the leader of the civil rights leader whom many of the marchers have come to respect and follow. Marchers from all different backgrounds all supporting the civil rights and jobs for the African American community. Martin Luther King Jr. took the podium in front of these marchers and spoke a message that would inspire not just those present, but all of America to have a dream just like his. A dream in a country that has been stacking the cards against them for a couple hundred years. King took the podium and spoke of his dream, “… a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”” (King npg.). King’s speech resonated with thousands of African Americans and inspired them to dream his dream and start a movement that would lead them their civil rights.