SPEECH

The power of Dr. King’s words live on in his speeches, letters, and other writing. Here is an excerpt from a famous speech he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Today many consider it to be one of the greatest speeches in human history.

Martin Luther King, Jr., with his wife, Coretta, and two of their four children, Marty and Yoki.

from “I Have a Dream”

… I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

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, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners 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.