Saturday, June 11, 2011

Inspirational Speeches # 11 - Martin Luther King

MARTIN LUTHER KING Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, August 28, 1963

'I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed': Martin Luther King told a crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in 1963.

One of the most powerful speeches of modern times was that made by the black civil-rights leader Martin Luther King in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Using soaring Christian rhetoric, he told a huge audience,

'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 injustice, 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 colour of their skin but by the content of their character.'

'I have a dream today!'

Tragically, King was assassinated just a few years later, but the great thing about this speech is that his dream was eventually realised - even though at the time he spoke it was just a dream.

What greater legacy can a speech have?

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