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.


Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundrged years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.


In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. 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

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.


It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.


We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.


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.

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.
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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.”

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!


Let freedom ring from the snowcapped 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 to 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!”

Annika

reference to Abe Lincoln

Claire

Annika

they didn’t act on the promise, sadly

no equality

Annika

I like the bank and season/weather metaphors here

Claire

Annika

it’s nice that they choose not to get revenge or to fight

Emancipation Proclamation - I think this is about the approval of the rights of all men, black and white men alike.

they choose to be forgiving, they’re nice

Annika

They will never be satisfied until they’re treated better, which isn’t bad, that’s actually kind of good

"Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands...solid rock of brotherhood" - I guess it tells the people to learn and accept the Negros in America and to stop racism.

Sophie

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.


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.

Annika

Jasper

Annika

The hopes of saving black skin toned slaves from the injustice of society.

Referencing special locations with high racial injustice

They gotta be true to their creed 😤

Annika

They gotta apply the human rights to all of the places in America

Seth

Claire

I. Acquiring Equal Human Rights for the Black People of America
II. The Emancipation Proclamation
A. It brought hope to the black people of America when it was declared.
B. The government did not follow through with it.
III. Justice for the Black People of America
A. They believe that there is enough justice for all of America’s citizens, not just the white citizens.
B. They will continue to push for justice and equal rights until they finally get it.
IV. Hope for the Future
A. They hope that they will be able to acquire equal human rights for the next generation.
B. They hope that people will be judged not by their skin color but by their character.
C. God will be pleased and America will finally live up to its creed.

As long as the Americans don't acknowledge the Negros And their right in their country, the

Light of hope

Sophie

Even after a hundred years, black people still aren’t treated as equals to the white people.

Questions:


What more could the Negros do to convince the other Americans of their right?


Why don't the White people learn to accept the Negros?


Why has the problem of racial spearation gotten so bad in their time?

Jasper

Seth

Black people are alienated from society

Summary


King makes note of the Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. It actually brought the black people of that time hope for better treatment, but 100 years later, they are still treated badly.
Despite the bad treatment, they still hope for justice for their people. They believe that all of the citizens of America deserve their rights, despite their skin color.
They also hope that the next generation will be able to experience equal human rights. They also hope that people will be judged not for their skin but for their character. King says that God will be pleased and that America will live up to its creed of “We hold these things to be self-evident; that all things are created equal.”

Sophie

Black people are also children of God.

They are still fighting for equality

Jasper

Seth

America didn't honor there promise and there is still racism towards black people.

In the reference of the seasons its like descirbing there work during that seasons

Claire

It's great that they have dreams to pursue for the acceptance of Negros.

Annika

King is a pastor, btw

Jasper

It refers to the homes to they belong and they may go back proud when we are all equals

Sophie

It's good that some people would dream about equality because in the end we're all still human.

Seth

its good to see that they have there limits to not use violence and to not celebrate in a hatred way

Even when faced with tribulations, don’t lose hope. Things’ll get better

Seth

Seth

they will be satisfied when they get justice and righteousness

he has a lot of hope that black people will finally get their freedom

Seth

its good that they accept themselves as black and fighting for what is right.

Seth

they want to have equality not just in there state but all over america.

Seth

its good to know that what they achieve what they fought for.