I Have A Dream...

Sep 22, 2026

“I Have a Dream...” presents Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 “March on Washington” speech, opening with celebration of freedom’s historic promises and condemning America’s failure to uphold equality. It frames justice as urgent and immediate, denounces segregation and discrimination, and calls for active, disciplined, nonviolent civil rights struggle. The address challenges America to honor citizenship rights and insists that hope and freedom will emerge despite ongoing oppression.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

“I Have a Dream...”

Call for freedom and justice

Urgency of now and disciplined struggle

Refusal to accept segregation and discrimination

# “I HAVE A DREAM...” (Copyright 1963,MARTIN LUTHER KING,JR.) Speech by the Rev.MARTIN LuTHER KINGAt the"March on Washington" I am happy to join with you today in what will go downin history as the greatest demonstration for freedom inthe history of our nation. Five score years ago a great American in whose sym-bolic shadow we stand today signed the EmancipationProclamation.This momentous decree is a great beaconlight of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had beenseared in the flames of withering injustice.It came as ajoyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.But 100 years later the Negro still is not free.One hun-dred years later the life of the Negro is still badlycrippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains ofdiscrimination.One hundred years later the Negro liveson a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast oceanof material prosperity.One hundred years later theNegro is still languished in the corners of Americansociety and finds himself in exile in his own land.Sowe've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to casha check.When the architects of our Republic wrote themagnificent.words of the Constitution and the Declarationof Independence,they were signing a promissory note towhich every American was to fall heir.This note was apromise that all mel—yes,black men as well as whitemen—would be guarantecd the unalienable rights of life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness.It is obvious todaythat America has defaulted on this promissory note inso-far as her citizens of color are concerned.Instead of 2 honoring this sacred obligation,America has given theNegro people a bad check,a check which has come backmarked"insufficient funds.' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice isbankrupt.We refuse to believe that there are insufficientfunds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.So we've come to cash this check,a check that will giveus upon demand the riches of freedom and the security ofjustice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remindAmerica of the fierce urgency of now.This is no time toengage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tran-quilizing drug of gradualism.Now is the time to makereal the promises of democracy.Now is the time to risefrom the dark and desolate valley of segregation to thesunlit path of racial justice.Now is the time to lift ournation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solidrock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all ofGod's children.It would be fatal for the nation to over-look the urgency of the moment.This sweltering summerof the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass untilthere is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality—1963 is not an end but a beginning.Those who hopethat tlhe Negro needed to blow off steam and will now becontent will have a rude awakening if the nation returnsto business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in Americauntil the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.Thewhirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the founda-tions of our nation until the bright days of justice emerge. 3 And that is something that I must say to my people whostand on the worn threshold which leads into the palaceof justice.In the process of gaining our rightful placewe must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.Let us notseek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking fromthe cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high planeof dignity and discipline.We must not allow our crea-tive protests to degenerate into physical violence.Againand again we must rise to the majestic heights of meetingphysical force with soul force.The marvelous new mili-tancy which has engulfed the Negro community must notlead us to distrust all white people,for many of our whitebrothers,as evidenced by their presence here today,havecome to realize that their destiny is tied up with ourdes

FAQs

What does the speech celebrate at the start?

It celebrates the “March on Washington” as a historic demonstration for freedom and recalls the Emancipation Proclamation as a beacon of hope.

How does the speech describe America’s progress by 100 years later?

It argues that the Negro is still not free, still constrained by segregation and discrimination, living with poverty and exclusion in American society.

What approach does the speech urge for the civil rights struggle?

It calls for struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline, emphasizing meeting force with soul force and refusing to answer injustice with bitterness and hatred.

Sep 22, 2026

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