Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. In the speech, King envisioned a future where Black and White children could join hands as brothers and sisters. He dreamed that one day the sons of former slaves and slave owners would be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood. King called for an end to racism and discrimination, and expressed his hope that one day justice and equality would prevail for all people regardless of skin color.

1. I HAVE A DREME
BY : DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING
A very hearty good morning to everyone present here. I mayank agrawal am here
to summarize you the speech delivered by dr. martin Luther king in august 1963.
The title of the speech is “I have a dream”
The title itself must have raised several questions in your mind.
So let me first tell you about dr. martin Luther king
Dr. Martin Luther king was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a
very bright student and a talented speaker. He graduated at the age of 19 from
Morehouse College in Atlanta with a BA degree in sociology. In 1951 he
graduated from the Crozer Theological Seminary with a BA of divinity, which
qualified him to become a pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. In 1955 he
received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston University. He was a leader
in African-American civil rights moment. He is best known for improving non-
violent civil disobedience, based on his Christian beliefs.
In 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
When presenting him with the award, the Chairman of the Nobel Committee said:
Today, now that mankind has the atom bomb, the time has come to lay our
weapons and armaments aside and listen to the message Martin Luther King has
given us: "The choice is either nonviolence or nonexistence"....
King is the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can
be waged without violence. He is the first to make the message of brotherly love a
reality in the courseof his struggle, and he has brought this message to all men, to
all nations and races.

2. He continued to work for the society and he died at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968
I have a dream!
Whose dreams he is talking about?
What was the dream?
Why is he talking about dreams in his speech?
You all must be confused. Let us together find what the speech was all about!
The scene relates back to the 20th century when martin Luther king delivered a
speech ‘I HAVE A DERAM’ on august 28, 1963 during the march at
Washington for jobs and freedom in which he calls an end to racism in the United
States and for civil and economic rights.
Martin Luther king powerfully begins his speech by recalling our memories to
those famous words once spoken by Abraham Lincoln in his Emancipation
Proclamation that declares slaves as forever free from jan.1, 1863. He mentions
the words of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence which guaranteed
the unalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. But these
magnificent words were not applied into practice in case of colored citizens. He
demands the riches of freedom, security of justice, and citizenship rights to the
blacks. He argues that the policy of gradualism in the matter of justice will raise
discontent among blacks.

3. King expresses sharp dissatisfaction over segregation and racial discrimination. He
demands a fast end to racial discrimination, pledging his followers to a fight to
finish the wipe out all forms of segregation and to achieve equality and integration.
However, he is in favor of creative and disciplined protest without physical
violence. In his speech he even appeals the Whites to join hands with Blacks in
order to revolt against discriminatory practices against Blacks. He does not show
hatred against Whites, he is against color discrimination and racial prejudice.
With the history of black plight in mind, king leads the gathering into empowering
his purpose for presenting the argument. Luther personifies the constitution and
backbone of their nation into play and tells that people have come to cash a check.
A check written for the inalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness to
which all men are entitled under the constitution and the declaration of
independence. He mentions that instead of being granted their rightful earnings as
American citizens, the Negro people are given a bad check marked insufficient. He
says that they refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt and they have
come together to cash this check, a check that would give upon the demand of
freedom and the security of justice. He quoted “This is the time to make the real
promises of democracy, now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of
segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation,
now is the time to make justice a reality for all of god’s children.
He emphasizes;
“We cannot walk alone
And as we walk, we must pledge that we shall always march ahead
We cannot turn back”

4. In these lines he tries bring confidence level of the people, he is telling them that
they cannot turn back until they reach their goal, then he mentions that they cannot
be satisfied just by a declaration. He says –
“There are those who are asking the devotees civil rights: ‘when will you be
satisfied?’
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable
horrors of police brutality.
We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel,
cannot gain lodging in the hotels of the highways and the Hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller
ghetto to a larger one.
We can never be satisfied as long as our Children are stripped of their self-hood
and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote
and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls
down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
He says to his people that you have been victims of creative suffering. Continue to
work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi,
go back to Alabama, go back to south Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to
Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that
somehow this situation can and will be changed.

5. And then towards the end he talks about this dream. He says let us not wallow in
the valley of despair. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and
tomorrow, I still have a dream.
He is a dreamer with the vision of equality and justice. He wants a new America in
its social makeup, establish symphony of brotherhood among blacks and whites,
and eradicate the discriminatory treatment of black Americans. His dream is
deeply rooted in the American dream of ‘life, liberty and pursuit of happiness’.
He quotes very impressive and effective sentences:
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."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves
and the sons of former slaves owners will be able to sit down together at the table
of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with
the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed
into an oasis of freedom and justice.
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 today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its
governor having his lips dripping with the word of ‘interposition’ and

6. ‘nullification’ – one day right there in Alabama little black boys and girls will be
able to join hands with little white boys and girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and
mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked
places will be made straight; “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all
flesh shall see it together.”
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of
hope.
With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into
a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work
together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for
freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

7. But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from
every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to
speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and
Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words
of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!