I say to you today, my friends, so 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 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 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; one day right there 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, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, 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 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 stand 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 a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
This now famous speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington was the tipping point in the civil rights movement. He was the driving force in the movement which advanced civil rights legislation in Congress.
Where would we be today without his dream? Where would we be if King had allowed death threats to silence his voice? Where would we be if King had allowed fear to infiltrate his dream of equality for all men?
We must declare our dreams and stand by them through thick and thin. And not look to the past as our guide but look ahead. We must look ahead to a brighter future and let go of the “failures” or missteps of the past.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great 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 the storms of persecution 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.
So on this day, in celebration of his life which was a mere 39 years, let’s honor his word. Let’s have the courage to follow our dream and trust it knows the way.
Who knows? Maybe our efforts will prove to be visionary. Life-changing. Life-saving for others. But we won’t know until we take that first step. Until we have the courage to first declare.
For the full speech click here. Photo courtesy of essence.com
Ingrid Schaffenburg's Blog 
Ityour tonic you are using the words of one of my heroes. If it wasn’t for this man, I wouldn’t have been able to overlook the injustices done to me growing up. Yes, I may no have grown up during the 60s but FW was far from being equal. Elementary school was a challenge. Making friends was a challenge. I was blessed to have friends like you to help overcome those challenges.
He had a dream. It was a great dream. A dream that has gotten lost in the shuffle among my race. We need to be reminded that if we don’t have a dream, we should set one and keep that dream in our sights so that when we do achieve it, we can make a new one. Dreaming allows us to stay ambitious enough to continue to “overcome” and be the people we are today.
Great post my friend!
Beautiful Nadia! Very well said. Let’s get together when you have some time 🙂
Loved this post, Inge!!!!
love,
Mom
Thanks Ma!
Great post, Ingrid! One of my favorite speeches. 🙂
Awesome!
Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech is so iconic and worthy of remembering every day, all year. Happy MLK Day and happy dreaming!
Agreed!!! Happy dreaming to you to!
Well said, Ingrid. MLK was no only one of the greatest orators, he was a great writer. He knew how to structure his sentences for the utmost impact using only 10c words. I think the type struggles he led are being repeat in different form in the middle east today.
Cheers!
Promoting love instead of violence. What an amazing man indeed!
All I get from the above is to live in unity. If we be all united and look at each other with respect and simplicity; I say we can conquer any fear and challenge.