I HAVE A DREAM
I am happy to join w ith you today in w ha t w ill go
dow n in history as the greatest dem onstration for free do m in the
history o f our nation.
Five score years ago, a great A m erican, in whose sym bolic
shadow we stand today, signed the Em ancipation Proclam ation.
This m om entous decree came as a great beacon ligh t o f hope to
m illions of N egro slaves, w ho had been seated in the flam es of
w ithe rin g injustice It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long
night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the N egro is still not free. One
hundred years later, the life o f the N egro is still sadly c rip ple d by
the manacles of segregation apd the chains o f discrim in atio n.
One hundred years later, the N egro lives on a lo n e ly island o f
poverty in the midst of a vast ocean o f m aterial prosperity. One
hundred years later, the N egro is still languished in the corners of
Am erican society and finds h im self an e x ile in his o w n land. So
we have come here today to dram atize a sham eful condition.
In a sense w e 've come to our natio n's C apitol to cash a check.
When the architects of our republic w ro te the m a g n ifice n t words
of the Constitution and the D eclaration of Independence, they
w ere signing a promissory note to w hich every A m erican was to
fa ll heir. This note was a prom ise that a ll men -- yes, Black men
as w e ll as w hite men — w o u ld be g uaranteed the u n a lie n a b le
rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit o f happiness.
It is obvious today that Am erica has d e fa u lte d on this
promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned
Instead o f honoring this sacred o b lig a tio n , A m erica has g ive n the
N egro people a bad check: a check w hich has come back m arked
"in s u ffic ie n t fu n d s". But w e refuse to b e lie ve that the bank of
justice is bankrupt.
We refuse to b e lie ve that there are
insu fficien t funds in the great vaults o f o pp ortu nity o f this nation
So w e 've come to cash this check — a check that w ill g iv e us upon
dem and the riches of freedom and the security o f justice We
have also come to this h a llo w e d spot to rem ind A m erica o f the
fierce urgency of NOW This is no tim e to engage in the luxury of
cooling o ff or to take the tra n q u ilizin g drug o f gradualism . N ow is
the tim e to m ake real the promises of Democracy. N ow is the tim e
to rise from the dark and desolate v a lle y o f segregation to the
sunlit path o f racia 1 justice N ow is the tim e to lift our nation from
the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock o f brotherhood.
N ow is the tim e to m ake justice a re a lity for a ll of G od's children.
It w o u ld be fa ta l for the nation to o verlo o k the urgency o f the
m om ent. This sw eltering summ er o f the N egro's le g itim a te
discontent w ill not poss u ntil there is an in v ig o ra tin g autum n of
freedom and e quality. N inteen sixty-three is not an end, but a
beginning. Those w ho hope that the N egro needed to b lo w o ff
steam and w ill now be content w ill have a rude a w a k e n in g if the
nation returns to businessas usual. There w ill be n either rest nor
tra n q u ility m Am erica until the N egro is granted his citizenship
rights
The w h irlw in d s o f revolt w ill continue to shake the
foundations o f our nation until the bright day o f justice emerges.
But that is som ething that I must say to my people w ho stand on
the w arm threshold w hich leads into the palace o f justice. In
the process o f g a in in g our rig h tfu l place w e must not be g u ilty of
w ro n g fu l deeds le t us not seek to satisfy our thirst for free do m by
d rin k in g from the cup of bitterness and hatred
We must fo re v e r conduct our struggle on the high pla ne o f
d ig n ity and d iscip lin e . W e must not a llo w our crea tive protest to
deg en erate into physical viole nce A g ain and aga in w e must rise
to the m ajestic heights o f m eeting physical force w ith soul force.
The m arvelous new m ilita ncy w hich has e n g u lfe d the N egro
co m m un ity must not lead us to a distrust of a ll w h ite p eople, for
m any o f our w h ite brothers, as evid en ced by their presence here
today, have com e to rea lize that th e ir destiny is tied up w ith our
destiny. And they have come to rea lize that th eir free do m is
in e x tric a b ly bound to our free do m . We cannot w a lk alone.
And as w e w a lk , w e must m ake the p le dg e that w e shall
a lw a ys m arch a head. We cannot turn back. There are those w ho
ask the devotees o f civ il rights, "W h e n w ill you be s a tis fie d ? " We
can never be satisfied as long as the N egro is the victim o f the
unspeakable horrors o f police b ru ta lity. We can never be satisfied
as long as our bodies, heavy w ith the fa tig u e of trave l, cannot
gain lo d g in g in the m otels o f the highw ays ond the hotels of the
cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the N egro's basic
m o b ility is fro m a sm aller ghetto to a larger one We can never be
satisfied as long as our child re n are stripped o f th eir se lfhood and
robbed o f th e ir d ig n ity by signs stating "For W hites O n ly " We
cannot be satisfied as long as a N egro in M ississippi cannot vote
and a N egro in N e w York believe s he has n oth ing fo r w hich to
vote. No, no, w e are not satisfied, and w e w ill not be satisfied
until justice rolls d o w n like w aters and righteousness like a
m ig hty stream
I am not u n m in d fu l that some o f you have com e here out of
great trials and trib u la tio n s. Some o f you have com e fresh from
n arrow ja il cells. Some o f you have com e from areas w he re your
quest fo r fre e d o m le ft you battered by the storms o f persecution
and staggered by the w inds o f p o lice b ru ta lity You have been the
veterans o f crea tive suffering. C ontinue to w ork w ith the fa ith
that unearned s u ffe rin g is red e m p tive
Go back to M ississippi, go back to A la b a m a , go back to South
C arolina, go back to G eorgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the
slums and ghettos o f our northern cities, kn o w in g that som ehow
this situation can and w ill be changed Let us not w a llo w in the
v a lle y o f despair.
I say to you today, m y friends, so even though w e face the
d iffic u ltie s o f today and to m o rro w , I still have a dream . It is a
dream d e e p ly rooted in the A m e rican dream .
I have a d re a m that one day this nation w ill rise up and liv e out
the true m e a n in g o f its creed: "W e hold these truths to be
se lf-e v id e n t; that a ll men are created e q u a l."
I have a dre am that one day on the red hills o f G e orgia the sons
o f fo rm e r slaves and the sons o f fo rm e r slaveow ners w ill be able
to sit d o w n together at the table o f b ro the rho od ; I have a dream -
That one day even the state o f M ississippi, a state sw elte rin g
w ith the heat o f injustice, s w e lte rin g w ith the heat o f oppression.
w ill be transform ed into an oasis o f freedom and justice I have a
dream —
That my four little c h ild re n w ill one day liv e in a nation w here
they w ill not be jud ge d by the color o f th e ir skin but the content of
their character: I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, liv e in a nation w here they w ill
not be judged by the color o f th e ir skin but the content o f their
character: I have a dream today.
I have a dre am that one day, d o w n in A la ba m a , w ith its vicious
racists, w ith its g ove rn or h a vin g his lips d rip p in g w ith the words o f
interposition and n u llific a tio n , one day rig h t there in A la ba m a
little Black boys and Black g irls w ill be able to join hands w ith
little w h ite boys and w h ite g irls as sisters and brothers: I have a
dream today --
I have a dream that one day every v a lle y shall be exalted,
every h ill and m ou n ta in shall be m ade low , the rough places w ill
be m ade p la n e and crooked places w ill be m ade s tra ig h t and the
glo ry o f the Lord shall be re ve a le d , and a ll flesh shall see it
together.
This is our hope. This is the fa ith that I go back to the South
w ith W ith this fa ith w e w ill be a b le to hew out o f the m ountain
of despair a stone of hope W ith this fa ith w e w ill be a ble to
transform the ja n g lin g discords o f our nation into a b ea u tifu l
sym phony o f b ro th e rh o o d W ith this fa ith w e w ill be a b le to work
together, to pray to gether, to struggle together, to go to jail
together, to stand up for fre e d o m together, kn ow ing that w e w ill
be fre e one day.
This w ill be the day . This w ill be the day w hen a ll o f God's
ch ild re n w ill be a b le to sing w ith new m ea nin g "M y country 'tis o f
thee, sw eet lan d of lib e rty, o f thee I sing. Land w here m y fathers
d ie d, land o f the p ilg rim 's pride, from every m ountainside, let
free do m r in g ," and if A m erica is to be a great nation - this must
becom e true.
So let free do m rin g — from the pro dig io us h illto p s o f N ew
H am pshire, let free do m rin g : from the m ig hty m ountains o f N ew
York let fre e d o m ring — from the h e ig h te n in g A lle g h e n ie s o f
Pennsylvania!
Let free do m rin g from the snow capped Rockies o f C olorado!
Let free do m rin g from the curvaceous slopes of C a lifo rn ia !
But not o nly that: let free do m ring from Stone M ou nta in o f
G eorgia!
Let fre e d o m rin g from Lookout M ou nta in o f Tennessee!
Let fre e d o m rin g from every h ill and m ole h ill o f M ississippi
From e very m ou nta insid e, let free do m rin g, and w hen this
happens.
W hen w e a llo w fre e d o m ring, w he n w e let it rin g from every
v illa g e and e very h am le t, from every state and every city, w e w ill
be a b le to speed up that day w he n a ll o f God's ch ild re n, Black
m en and w h ite m en, Jews and G entiles, Protestants and
Catholics, w ill be a b le to |Oin hands and sing in the w ords o f the
o ld N egro s p iritu a l, "F ree at last! fre e at last! thank God a lm ig h ty ,
w e are fre e at la s tl"
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