Saturday, February 9, 2008

"I have a dream"... by Martin Luther King

"I have a dream" is the name of famous public speech made by Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963. He made this speech by standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to over two hundred thousand supporters outside the Memorial. Its about King's desire to have a community where Blacks and Whites are treated equally. This speech is of high importance in the American Civil Rights movement. It is also considered one of the most popular speech in the 20th century.

Some of the important excerpts of the speech are as follows:
  • "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will they be able to sit down together at a 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."
  • "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.'"
  • "This is our hope. 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."
  • "Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."

This speech pressurized the Kennedy's Government to pass the Civil rights Legislation act. Due to this speech King was awarded Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1963 and he was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He's still the youngest person to be awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

1 comment:

redhead said...

Hmmm... I have always great respect for this guy :)

keep blogging:)
rhon==>redheadspeaks

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