"I have a hope that one day... the heat of injustice and tyranny would be converted into an oasis of freedom and justice," says Martin Luther King, Jr. "It is my faith that this new world will come."
King's famous speech "I Have A Dream" was given on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The speech was part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom organized by African-American civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in order to draw attention to racial inequality within the United States. In addition to King, other prominent speakers included U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Lewis (Chesty) Puller, Robert F. Williams, and Harry Belafonte.
In his speech, King calls for equal rights for all people, including blacks who were once treated as slaves. He also demands that America adopt policies that will help achieve these goals. "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," says King. "The old laws will be changed, and the new laws will be written on high walls for all to see."
Is Martin Luther King's dream still alive? We can keep his dream alive by doing what it was all about: freedom. Freedom from oppression. Freedom from slavery. Freedom from discrimination. Freedom or justice for all.
Dr. King knew that you cannot have freedom for some people unless there is also freedom for everyone else. He said, "I believe that if we are to get back to the land of the free and the home of the brave, we must first be free ourselves."
That is why he fought for civil rights. He wanted to give freedom and justice to all Americans, no matter what color they were or where they came from.
Today, we still fight for civil rights. But we need to make sure that everyone in this country is included under the umbrella of protection of the law. If we do not, then Dr. King's dream will never be real world peace, nor will it be true equality.
His dream needs to live on because it is always within our power to change things that are wrong in this world. It takes courage and strength of conviction to stand up for what you believe in. But if enough people do so, things can change for the better.
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech made by American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in which he advocated for civil and economic rights, as well as an end to racism in the United States. The address was delivered before a crowd of 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
In his speech, Dr. King discussed issues such as poverty, unemployment, housing discrimination, and police brutality against African Americans. He also called for equal treatment under the law, an end to racial segregation, and acceptance of all people regardless of race or religion.
After the March on Washington, Dr. King went back home to Atlanta, Georgia, where he organized another protest, this time against segregated schools. In April 1964, he led a group of more than 4,000 people in prayerful demonstrations across Alabama with the aim of achieving integrated schools there.
In May 1965, Dr. King spoke again at a huge rally in Washington, this time to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam. His powerful speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop" was met with an enormous response from the audience. After this event, he embarked on a tour of Canada and the United States, speaking out against the war and promoting his new book, A Call for Unity: The Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
The goal of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech is to educate the American public about the unfairness of racial inequity and urge them to cease discriminating based on race. He begins by explaining that his dream has three parts: First, he hopes that one day all Americans will have equal rights regardless of their race. Second, he wants desegregation to be enforced across America. Finally, he hopes that his children will not live in a racist society where division between the races exists.
King argues that racism is an evil nation-wide phenomenon because it is founded on falsehood and discrimination. This idea forms the basis for much of what he says in the speech. He claims that people of color are twice as likely as others to be stopped by police officers who suspect they are involved in criminal activity. He also mentions that there are still many laws on the books from before Emancipation that allow for slavery or involuntary servitude.
In addition, King says that racial divisions exist in every aspect of life in America. He claims that this country would never have allowed itself to be divided into the racially segregated states if racism had not existed. Thus, racism is an issue that affects everyone in America therefore it must be dealt with by all groups together.