I Have a Dream

"I Have a Dream" is an iconic speech by Baptist minister and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He gave the speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in front of a crowd of more than a quarter-million people.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech

Martin Luther King Jr.s formal education and growing up in a Black middle-class church community played a crucial role in the content and message of the "I Have a Dream" speech. As a child he experienced racism firsthand when he tried to befriend a neighborhood white boy, only to be told they couldn't be friends because he was Black. His father was a preacher, and King was fascinated by oratory.

In elementary school, King developed an interest in English and history. He read dictionaries to expand his vocabulary. He went to Booker T. Washington, a historically Black high school. King did his first public speech and won an oratory contest while in high school.¹

Graduating early at fifteen years old, King enrolled at Morehouse College, a historically Black college that his father and grandfather went to as well. Here he expanded his interests into sociology, while also working manual labor jobs during his summers in the northeast. Experiencing the freedom of integration in the north contrasted starkly with his upbringing in the segregated south.

Growing up, Martin Luther King Jr. was fascinated by public speaking. Wikimedia.

Martin Luther King Jr. at first thought he would study something else, but ultimately pursued preaching as his father wanted. He enrolled at the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, earning his Bachelor in Divinity in 1951. He began his doctoral studies at Boston University shortly thereafter, earning his Ph.D. in systemic theology.

Biblical references would feature prominently in King's "I Have a Dream" speech. His fondness for English and history would be displayed in the rich language and race relations of the past one hundred years.

"I Have a Dream" Speech Summary

Martin Luther King Jr. opens with regarding the momentous occasion of so many people gathered with the goal of creating a more just society. He then links this to Abraham Lincoln's signing of the "Emancipation Proclamation" (1863), which declared all slaves free. King acknowledges the brilliance of this past event but laments that Black people still are not entirely free. The repeated abuses, humiliation, and discrimination that comprise the daily existence of Black Americans keep them from being truly free even one hundred years later. King states the purpose of the "I Have a Dream" speech is to dramatize and highlight the "shameful condition" of being Black in America.

The "Declaration of Independence" (1776) made a promise to protect citizens' inalienable rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet it has "defaulted" on this promise to Black Americans. Everyone is gathered here to collect on that promise: to demand what is rightfully owed to them. King feels there's no reason this cannot be fulfilled, as America is a very prosperous and rich nation, completely capable of sharing in the wealth, and consequently, justice.

Martin Luther King Jr. makes a call to action. Now is the time to confront racial injustice and segregation, and finally make the American dream a reality for everyone, not just white people. Not just gradually, but immediately. This Civil Rights Movement won't wither away. It will continue to fight until justice is achieved.

Martin Luther King Jr. was known for his fiery, passionate, and eloquent oratory. Wikimedia.

Against the overwhelming obstacles and hatred, protesters must remain nonviolent and loving of their enemies. King feels together they are on the precipice of change but they must not lose sight of their goal. Bitterness and vengeance cannot be allowed to get the best of them. This is a task that must be done together. They have white allies in attendance, and they must rely on them to achieve equality. The momentum of the moment is carrying them forward and they mustn't look back.

King expresses that devotees of civil rights cannot stop until true justice is achieved. Black people need the same economic opportunities as white people. Black people cannot feel dignified or equal if there's segregation. They need their voting rights protected, and they need their voices heard so they have something to vote for.

Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the hardship and brutality that protesters have experienced. He hopes to renew their faith, and for them to bring back this sense of purpose to their homes to continue the fight for justice, that things are changing, and that things will change.

The March on Washinton for Jobs and Freedom was one of the few protests where Martin Luther King Jr. was not arrested. Wikimedia.

Then Martin Luther King Jr. begins his famous "I Have a Dream" refrain where he repeats many times "I have a dream." His dream is "deeply rooted" in the American dream. He hopes the nation will live out its self-professed ideals, that "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream is that white and Black people, adults and children, can enjoy solidarity and live together communally. Even the worst and most racist places will become an "oasis of freedom". That skin color will no longer be what Black people are judged by.

Together, King expresses, we can be stronger and support each other as we fight for the freedom that we will one day get. He then metaphorically uses the vast geographical features of the United States to envision that freedom ringing across the land. King hopes we can bring the day sooner so that everyone, regardless of nation, creed, ethnicity, or color, can truly sing about and feel that freedom.

The Main Ideas of the Speech "I Have a Dream"

• Equality is a founding principle of America, a standard America created, and ought to be upheld and lived up to.

• Black people cannot achieve the American dream if they have additional barriers to contend with. Issues such as economic inequality, segregation, and voting rights protections need to be addressed to achieve real equality.

• Solidarity is instrumental in achieving equality within an unequal society. He states, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

• Christians believe we are all God's children, and that makes us equal. Racial justice, and serving the poor and underprivileged are not only compatible with Christianity, but central tenets as well.

• The overall message of the "I Have a Dream" speech is that together we can fight for and achieve a more just society.

"I Have a Dream" Speech Analysis

In the introduction, Martin Luther King opens the speech with a direct reference to the "Gettysburg Address" (1863) by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln opened the speech with the line, "Four score and seven years ago". King in the second line of his speech references Lincoln with, "Five score years ago", acknowledging that Lincoln signed the "Emancipation Proclamation", essentially freeing all slaves. Lincoln was referencing the "Declaration of Independence" and its clause about all men being equal. While the founding fathers did initially mean white landowning males, Lincoln sought to reinterpret and reframe the issues of his day—the Civil war and slavery—as the antithesis of core American ideals. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech to show that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln.

King was well-read, studied the history of racism in America, and strategically connected the Civil Rights Movement to be in the spirit of American principles. In this manner, King ties this speech and moment to the very beginning of the creation of this country. His ideas about freedom and equality do not come from a vacuum, nor are they petty grievances. Rather the founding principles themselves are where he and everyone gathered, drew the authority to demand equality for all. Martin Luther King Jr. opens the speech directly referencing the "Emancipation Proclamation" by Abraham Lincoln. Though slavery was made illegal and essentially all slaves freed, over the course of one hundred years, Black people are still oppressed by racism and segregation.

King also references and quotes the Bible. Often lines from the bible are rephrased and incorporated into the speech. For example, when King is speaking about how God will recognize everyone as his children, independent of creed or ethnicity, he's alluding to Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is their male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

King was a devout Christian and felt that the central doctrine of Christianity, to serve through sacrifice and unconditional love, had been distorted and/or played down in contemporary Christianity. He sought to use community through the model of his baptist congregations to inspire people to fight injustice and strive toward equality. While freedom of religion was a value expressed by colonists and those escaping persecution, many founding principles were espoused by Christians, and Christianity constitutes a majority of Americans in King's and today's time. He hoped to appeal to their Christian sentiments, the desire to be a good Christian, and carry the burden of fighting for inequality through personal sacrifice.

King uses metaphors to highlight contrasts. America is a vast landscape with a variety of features. He utilizes this to present the scope and ambition of the Civil Rights Movement. Yet he doesn't let the immensity of the project deter him. Not until one hears freedom ringing across the country can we be satisfied.