Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech [FULL TEXT & VIDEO]

In the speech, King calls for racial equality among Americans and an end to discriminatory practices in the U.S.

Follow us

"When the architects of our 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 the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," he said in the revered speech.

 "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," said King.

"And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!" he continued.

Known for his eloquent speeches, "I Have A Dream" has been hailed as a stylistic masterpiece, with allusions to the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation and the United States Constitution. The speech also alludes to the Gettysburg Address and Shakespeare's "Richard III."

While the speech is believed to have had numerous drafts, the "I Have a Dream" section, which comes at the end of King's beautiful speech, is thought to have been improvised. Near the end of King's speech African American gospel singer Mahlia Jackson allegedly shouted "Tell them about the dream, Martin," at which point King departed from his prepared speech to deliver a part punctuated by "I have a dream." Stanley Levison and Clarence Benjamin Jones helped King craft the prepared part of his speech.

The "I Have a Dream" speech and the March on Washington both had an enormous impact on the Civil Rights Movement. King was named Man of the Year by TIME magazine in 1963 and 1964 and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The speech and King's success put pressure on the Kennedy administration to advance civil rights legislation.

King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. on Apr. 4, 1968. He is honored through the success of the Civil Rights Movement and remembered on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.

Read Martin Luther King, Jr.'s full "I Have a Dream" speech as delivered on Aug. 28, 1963.

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.