In honour of Martin Luther King Day here is part of his famous “I Have a Dream” 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….
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 that one day every valley shall be exalted, and 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, and 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.
And this will be the 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 fathers 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.
And 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.
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 Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village 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 Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
See also:
- Read the whole speech here or, if you see a picture above, click on it to hear it on YouTube.
- Martin Luther King Jr
- Bob Dylan: The Death of Emmett Till
- Race in America
- Jim Crow
With all due respect to the world-famous “I Have A Dream” speech, but every American (as well as every non-American) is bombarded with this speech. We, as school kids, are in ingrained with the Dream Speech. Unfortunately, White Americans use the Dream Speech to counteract a Black person’s dialogue or argument on white racism. Is the Dream Speech the only speech that not only Whites but other ethnic groups know? Do people really know the civil rights leader? Do people know that the civil rights leader, Dr. MLK, Jr, was:
1. A man who fought against institutional racism also known as white racism/white supremacy
2. A man who wanted societal and institutional-oppressed Black people to believe, appreciate and love themselves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAGIbhdj5d8) (‘The Somebody Told A Lie’ Speech)
2. A man who wanted reparation for his people, African-Americans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrWh3or-T83 (‘The Coming To Get Our Check’ Speech)
3. A man who was against a war that dealt with controlling an Opium Industry
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@ To Abagond, fellow commenters and trolls
HAPPY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY!!!
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Happy MLK Jr Day to you also Brother Cooper.
I appreciate the knowledge, perspectives, pictures and data you contribute here!
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@ Michael Cooper @ Everyone Else
Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!
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I had to work 😦
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Has there ever been a good biopic on Martin Luther King, Jr? I was searching for any, but it doesn’t look very good.
I wonder if Selma (2014) would be the closest thing to it.
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@ Just Me
Thank you!
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Reblogged this on Boycott.
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