LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE PAST SAGES

"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."


FREEDOM HERO:
DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR.
"I HAVE A DREAM"



"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our Nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed to the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.




It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is not time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promise 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 from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of it's colored citizens. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.


There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of 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 motels 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 selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for white 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.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality.

You have been the veterans 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 modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that 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 the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave 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 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 words of interposition and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white 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 every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains 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. This is the faith that I will 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 climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, 'my country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!'

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the 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.

But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.

And when this happens, when we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement 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 spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."













RELATED LINKS

Martin Luther King, Jr. Guestbook: read guestbook entries from other My Hero users from around the world, and input your own entry!

The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial

The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, is the official, living memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of America’s greatest nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace.





RECOMMENDED READING

I Have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr., James M. Washington (Editor), James Melvin Washington (Editor), Foreword by Coretta Scott King
Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Robert E. Jakoubek

Martin''s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Doreen Rappaport
The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation
by Drew D. Hansen





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More Featured Freedom Heroes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Abraham Lincoln was a U.S president who fought for the abolition of slavery. Angela Davis is a
leader, author, and
professor who has fought for decades
for human rights. Aung San Suu Kyi seeks democracy for Burma. Bill Bradley once a pro-basketball player now is a politician who advocates reform to make America better for all.

CESAR CHAVEZ was a tireless advocate for migrant farm workers. Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce tribe in an effort to keep its homeland. Clara Shortridge Foltz was the first woman to practice law in California. Craig Kielburger
believes kids can
change the world.

Crazy Horse bravely fought for the freedom of the Sioux Nation. Declaration of Human Rights established the basis for human rights beliefs and practices
all over the world. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
"I Have a Dream" was the civil rights speech that moved the world Eleanor Roosevelt
was a champion for
freedom.

Elizabeth Blackwell opened the first medical school for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneer in the movement for womens rights. Emmeline Pankhurst fought tirelessly for
women's suffrage,
and succeeded. Frances Ellen Watkins devoted her life to speaking out against slavery.

Fred Korematsu bravely protested the Japanese-American internment. George Washington was the first President of the United States. Harriet Tubman organized the Underground Railroad. Inez Milholland Boissevain : a brief but spectacular life dedicated to women's suffrage.

Inge Sargent is a Burmese princess devoted to human rights for all. Iqbal Masih was
a brave advocate
for child labor laws. James Reeb risked his own life as a brave civil rights crusader. Jane Akre & Steve Wilson won the 2001 Goldman Environmental Prize for their courageous journalism.

Janet Jagan was
the first female
president of
Guyana. Jessie Daniel Ames worked openly and actively on behalf of racial justice. John Adams worked as hard for peace for the United States as he did for its independence. John Lewis has worked for civil rights for all for over 40 years.

Jose Marti is
considered the
father of Cuba's
battle for
independance. Joseph Ki-Zerbo
works to help
Africans retain
control of their
country's agriculture. Judy Feld Carr secretly helped thousands of Jews escape from Syria. Kofi Annan is an honored freedom
hero and an
AIDS activist.

Malcolm Little known as Malcom X, was a warrior in the fight against racism. Marian Wright Edelman is one of the country's leading advocates for children. Martin Luther King, Jr. Peaceful freedom fighter and civil rights activist Mary Harris Jones
worked to free
children from
industrial slavery.

Medgar Wiley Evers
worked to end
racism in America Mohammad Hatta was a central figure in Indonesia's fight for independence. Mohandas K. Gandhi freed India
from British
oppression through
non-violent protest. Morris Seligman Dees is the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Moses led the Jews from slavery and gave them religious laws. Nellie McClung believed in equal rights for all women Nelson Mandela is
a peacemaker and
a freedom hero. Osceola led the Seminoles in their battle for independence.

Paul Revere risked his life for the freedom of the American colonies. Quaid-E-Azam helped to create the nation of Pakistan. RAWA promote women's rights through non-violent action Rev. James Reeb worked for equal rights for all

Robert F. Kennedy was a voice for the powerless and advocate for human rights. Roger Nash Baldwin A pioneer in the struggle for civil justice. Rosa Parks made history when she refused to sit in the back of the bus. Ruby Bridges
bravely led the way
to desegregation
of schools as a
child.

Sir William Wallace was a freedom-fighter for the Scottish people in the early 1300s. Sojourner Truth born into slavery, worked for the freedom of all. Susan B. Anthony led the early Women's Suffrage Movement. The Dalai Lama is
the religious leader
of Tibet and an
emblem of Tibet's
hopes for freedom.

Thomas Jefferson helped the American Colonies achieve independence from Britain. Thurgood Marshall
was the first
African-American
to serve on the
U.S. Supreme Court. Tiananmen Square discuss freedom and democracy at Tian An Min Square. Vaclav Havel despite censorship, wrote plays that helped keep the hope of freedom alive....

W.E.B. Dubois was a leading 19th century writer and scholar.



Last changed on:1/14/2005 12:35:30 PM

angel | animals | artists | business | child | community | earthkeepers |explorers | faith | family | freedom | lifesavers | literary | musician | peacemakers | poets | scientists | sports | teachers | women | writers








Print-Friendly Version





"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."


FREEDOM HERO:
DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR.
"I HAVE A DREAM"



"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our Nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed to the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.




It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is not time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promise 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 from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of it's colored citizens. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.


There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of 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 motels 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 selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for white 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.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality.

You have been the veterans 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 modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that 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 the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave 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 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 words of interposition and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white 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 every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains 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. This is the faith that I will 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 climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, 'my country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!'

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the 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.

But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.

And when this happens, when we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement 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 spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."













RELATED LINKS

Martin Luther King, Jr. Guestbook: read guestbook entries from other My Hero users from around the world, and input your own entry!

The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial

The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, is the official, living memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of America’s greatest nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace.





RECOMMENDED READING

I Have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr., James M. Washington (Editor), James Melvin Washington (Editor), Foreword by Coretta Scott King
Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Robert E. Jakoubek

Martin''s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Doreen Rappaport
The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation
by Drew D. Hansen





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More Featured Freedom Heroes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Abraham Lincoln was a U.S president who fought for the abolition of slavery. Angela Davis is a
leader, author, and
professor who has fought for decades
for human rights. Aung San Suu Kyi seeks democracy for Burma. Bill Bradley once a pro-basketball player now is a politician who advocates reform to make America better for all.

CESAR CHAVEZ was a tireless advocate for migrant farm workers. Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce tribe in an effort to keep its homeland. Clara Shortridge Foltz was the first woman to practice law in California. Craig Kielburger
believes kids can
change the world.

Crazy Horse bravely fought for the freedom of the Sioux Nation. Declaration of Human Rights established the basis for human rights beliefs and practices
all over the world. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
"I Have a Dream" was the civil rights speech that moved the world Eleanor Roosevelt
was a champion for
freedom.

Elizabeth Blackwell opened the first medical school for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneer in the movement for womens rights. Emmeline Pankhurst fought tirelessly for
women's suffrage,
and succeeded. Frances Ellen Watkins devoted her life to speaking out against slavery.

Fred Korematsu bravely protested the Japanese-American internment. George Washington was the first President of the United States. Harriet Tubman organized the Underground Railroad. Inez Milholland Boissevain : a brief but spectacular life dedicated to women's suffrage.

Inge Sargent is a Burmese princess devoted to human rights for all. Iqbal Masih was
a brave advocate
for child labor laws. James Reeb risked his own life as a brave civil rights crusader. Jane Akre & Steve Wilson won the 2001 Goldman Environmental Prize for their courageous journalism.

Janet Jagan was
the first female
president of
Guyana. Jessie Daniel Ames worked openly and actively on behalf of racial justice. John Adams worked as hard for peace for the United States as he did for its independence. John Lewis has worked for civil rights for all for over 40 years.

Jose Marti is
considered the
father of Cuba's
battle for
independance. Joseph Ki-Zerbo
works to help
Africans retain
control of their
country's agriculture. Judy Feld Carr secretly helped thousands of Jews escape from Syria. Kofi Annan is an honored freedom
hero and an
AIDS activist.

Malcolm Little known as Malcom X, was a warrior in the fight against racism. Marian Wright Edelman is one of the country's leading advocates for children. Martin Luther King, Jr. Peaceful freedom fighter and civil rights activist Mary Harris Jones
worked to free
children from
industrial slavery.

Medgar Wiley Evers
worked to end
racism in America Mohammad Hatta was a central figure in Indonesia's fight for independence. Mohandas K. Gandhi freed India
from British
oppression through
non-violent protest. Morris Seligman Dees is the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Moses led the Jews from slavery and gave them religious laws. Nellie McClung believed in equal rights for all women Nelson Mandela is
a peacemaker and
a freedom hero. Osceola led the Seminoles in their battle for independence.

Paul Revere risked his life for the freedom of the American colonies. Quaid-E-Azam helped to create the nation of Pakistan. RAWA promote women's rights through non-violent action Rev. James Reeb worked for equal rights for all

Robert F. Kennedy was a voice for the powerless and advocate for human rights. Roger Nash Baldwin A pioneer in the struggle for civil justice. Rosa Parks made history when she refused to sit in the back of the bus. Ruby Bridges
bravely led the way
to desegregation
of schools as a
child.

Sir William Wallace was a freedom-fighter for the Scottish people in the early 1300s. Sojourner Truth born into slavery, worked for the freedom of all. Susan B. Anthony led the early Women's Suffrage Movement. The Dalai Lama is
the religious leader
of Tibet and an
emblem of Tibet's
hopes for freedom.

Thomas Jefferson helped the American Colonies achieve independence from Britain. Thurgood Marshall
was the first
African-American
to serve on the
U.S. Supreme Court. Tiananmen Square discuss freedom and democracy at Tian An Min Square. Vaclav Havel despite censorship, wrote plays that helped keep the hope of freedom alive....

W.E.B. Dubois was a leading 19th century writer and scholar.



Last changed on:1/14/2005 12:35:30 PM

angel | animals | artists | business | child | community | earthkeepers |explorers | faith | family | freedom | lifesavers | literary | musician | peacemakers | poets | scientists | sports | teachers | women | writers




















Print-Friendly Version





"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."


FREEDOM HERO:
DR. MARTIN
LUTHER KING, JR.
"I HAVE A DREAM"



"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our Nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed to the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.




It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is not time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promise 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 from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of it's colored citizens. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.


There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of 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 motels 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 selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for white 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.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality.

You have been the veterans 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 modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that 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 the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave 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 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 words of interposition and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white 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 every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains 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. This is the faith that I will 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 climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, 'my country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!'

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the 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.

But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.

And when this happens, when we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement 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 spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."













RELATED LINKS

Martin Luther King, Jr. Guestbook: read guestbook entries from other My Hero users from around the world, and input your own entry!

The Washington, DC, Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial

The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, is the official, living memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of America’s greatest nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace.





RECOMMENDED READING

I Have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr., James M. Washington (Editor), James Melvin Washington (Editor), Foreword by Coretta Scott King
Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Robert E. Jakoubek

Martin''s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Doreen Rappaport
The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation
by Drew D. Hansen





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More Featured Freedom Heroes

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Abraham Lincoln was a U.S president who fought for the abolition of slavery. Angela Davis is a
leader, author, and
professor who has fought for decades
for human rights. Aung San Suu Kyi seeks democracy for Burma. Bill Bradley once a pro-basketball player now is a politician who advocates reform to make America better for all.

CESAR CHAVEZ was a tireless advocate for migrant farm workers. Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce tribe in an effort to keep its homeland. Clara Shortridge Foltz was the first woman to practice law in California. Craig Kielburger
believes kids can
change the world.

Crazy Horse bravely fought for the freedom of the Sioux Nation. Declaration of Human Rights established the basis for human rights beliefs and practices
all over the world. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
"I Have a Dream" was the civil rights speech that moved the world Eleanor Roosevelt
was a champion for
freedom.

Elizabeth Blackwell opened the first medical school for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneer in the movement for womens rights. Emmeline Pankhurst fought tirelessly for
women's suffrage,
and succeeded. Frances Ellen Watkins devoted her life to speaking out against slavery.

Fred Korematsu bravely protested the Japanese-American internment. George Washington was the first President of the United States. Harriet Tubman organized the Underground Railroad. Inez Milholland Boissevain : a brief but spectacular life dedicated to women's suffrage.

Inge Sargent is a Burmese princess devoted to human rights for all. Iqbal Masih was
a brave advocate
for child labor laws. James Reeb risked his own life as a brave civil rights crusader. Jane Akre & Steve Wilson won the 2001 Goldman Environmental Prize for their courageous journalism.

Janet Jagan was
the first female
president of
Guyana. Jessie Daniel Ames worked openly and actively on behalf of racial justice. John Adams worked as hard for peace for the United States as he did for its independence. John Lewis has worked for civil rights for all for over 40 years.

Jose Marti is
considered the
father of Cuba's
battle for
independance. Joseph Ki-Zerbo
works to help
Africans retain
control of their
country's agriculture. Judy Feld Carr secretly helped thousands of Jews escape from Syria. Kofi Annan is an honored freedom
hero and an
AIDS activist.

Malcolm Little known as Malcom X, was a warrior in the fight against racism. Marian Wright Edelman is one of the country's leading advocates for children. Martin Luther King, Jr. Peaceful freedom fighter and civil rights activist Mary Harris Jones
worked to free
children from
industrial slavery.

Medgar Wiley Evers
worked to end
racism in America Mohammad Hatta was a central figure in Indonesia's fight for independence. Mohandas K. Gandhi freed India
from British
oppression through
non-violent protest. Morris Seligman Dees is the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Moses led the Jews from slavery and gave them religious laws. Nellie McClung believed in equal rights for all women Nelson Mandela is
a peacemaker and
a freedom hero. Osceola led the Seminoles in their battle for independence.

Paul Revere risked his life for the freedom of the American colonies. Quaid-E-Azam helped to create the nation of Pakistan. RAWA promote women's rights through non-violent action Rev. James Reeb worked for equal rights for all

Robert F. Kennedy was a voice for the powerless and advocate for human rights. Roger Nash Baldwin A pioneer in the struggle for civil justice. Rosa Parks made history when she refused to sit in the back of the bus. Ruby Bridges
bravely led the way
to desegregation
of schools as a
child.

Sir William Wallace was a freedom-fighter for the Scottish people in the early 1300s. Sojourner Truth born into slavery, worked for the freedom of all. Susan B. Anthony led the early Women's Suffrage Movement. The Dalai Lama is
the religious leader
of Tibet and an
emblem of Tibet's
hopes for freedom.

Thomas Jefferson helped the American Colonies achieve independence from Britain. Thurgood Marshall
was the first
African-American
to serve on the
U.S. Supreme Court. Tiananmen Square discuss freedom and democracy at Tian An Min Square. Vaclav Havel despite censorship, wrote plays that helped keep the hope of freedom alive....

W.E.B. Dubois was a leading 19th century writer and scholar.



Last changed on:1/14/2005 12:35:30 PM

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LET US GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE

By Solomon Boit

While nobody in his right mind can tell Kenyans that all is well in our Local Authorities or any other public institution in Kenya, many critics appear to have clearly lost sight of the deliberate efforts being made by people in Government to change course.

There certainly can be no escaping the fact that Local Authorities are facing many and critical challenges. What cannot be doubted is the resolve by this Government and this ministry in particular to deal with these challenges.

There is irrefutable evidence that things are changing and that, while we have a long way to go before we can claim any measure of success, local authorities have made advances.

Our biggest metropolis, Nairobi has some manifest and isolated success stories that are unmistakable. In the last one and half years alone, the City of Nairobi has planted 6950 trees as part of the beautification programme. This is a programme by the City Government in its pursuit for a better Nairobi.

Though the prevailing drought has slowed down the planting of trees and increased the cost of their maintenance, residents of Nairobi can rest assured that when the rains come, a massive tree planting exercise will be rolled out. And the choice of trees is brilliant. Trees with a higher capability to absorb emissions such as the podo, mukindira and the Nandi Flame have been chosen for this project.

These are trees that will not only clean up the air, but also help regulate daytime temperatures. In some streets e.g. Mama Ngina Street, this is already happening.

Only recently, the Local Government minister, Musikari Kombo, received a call from a lady who called in from Mathare slums to express her gratitude for the erection of floodlights in the sprawling estate. Fifty-two such floodlights are planned for commissioning next month. Related to this, is ongoing work on street lighting and the removal of garbage-mountains that have been an eyesore in the city.

We need as a country to confront four major issues that must permeate the perception of how we engage our local governments. The first is that while we demand cleanliness in our towns, we must take responsibility of the fact we Kenyans are the ones who litter.

The second issue is protection of infrastructure that gets either rehabilitated or installed. All too often, new infrastructure is installed, but vandalised within a week. A street lighting structure can cost up to Sh100,000 to commission. If this kind of structure is vandalised, it compromises the momentum and coverage.

Thirdly, the issue of advocacy where residents demand, without fear, the provision of services, which are rightly theirs. In the just concluded African Peer Review Mechanism, Kenyans were reportedly very dissatisfied with their elected representatives in Local Authorities but were not willing to engage with them actively. It is crucial that this engagement be encouraged so that we can sustain the momentum of improvements that are beginning to happen. The press can assist here in demystifying local governance so that citizens can freely engage with the authorities in their immediate neighbourhoods.

My final comment is more national and relates to the need to acknowledge the good that is happening as loudly as we acknowledge the bad.



The writer is Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government