Meaning of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech

What is speech I have a dream from Martin Luther King:

“I have a Dream"Or, in Spanish," I have a dream, "is a speech that was delivered by the American Martin Luther King, on August 28, 1963, at the end of the Washington march. It is considered a fundamental milestone in the fight for civil rights in the United States.

Martin Luther King's speech was aimed at denouncing the abuses and abuses suffered by African Americans due to the conflict of the last hundred years of American history, and to demand the justice and freedom to which they were entitled as citizens Americans.

It is a deeply optimistic, hopeful speech that proposes the ideal of a society based on the values ​​of the equality and fraternity, with full recognition of the civil rights and individual freedoms of the community African American.

Speech summary

Martin Luther King begins the speech by remembering the figure of US President Abraham Lincoln, who a hundred years earlier had abolished slavery. However, he laments, as that century of history has shown that African Americans continue to be unfree in the United States, that they continue to be relegated and segregated.

In that sense, he refers to the historic debt of the United States to the African-American community in the terms of a check that has not yet been issued. been paid and the payment of which constitutes the recognition of the right to freedom, security and justice that peacefully but firmly.

He reminds his followers of the need to continue advancing in his purpose until justice is served, despite the difficulties, the situation of generalized injustice and the tense scenarios that existed in the country due to the racism.

However, he says, despite all the adversities and obstacles, "I have a dream", a dream of justice and equality, of brotherhood between whites and blacks, a I dream that the barriers of racial segregation will be overcome, so that one day in the United States the dream of freedom and equal rights for all citizens, as stated in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, where it is stated "that all men have been created equal", be it possible.

Speech analysis

A century ago, a great American [Abraham Lincoln], [...] signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope for millions of black slaves [...]. But, a hundred years later, black people are still not free.

Martin Luther King invokes the figure of American President Abraham Lincoln, who abolished black slavery in 1863. He reflects on the fact that even though a century has passed since then, African Americans continue to a precarious situation in relation to the recognition of their rights and, therefore, they are not yet free from the everything.

We have come to our nation's capital in a sense to cash a check. When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and of the Declaration of Independence, they signed a promissory note of which every American would be inheritor. This document was the promise that to all men - yes, to black men and also to men whites - would be guaranteed the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Luther King refers to the historic debt of the American State with the African American community, contracted since the Declaration of Independence, in which it was affirmed that all men were equal, and the promises of freedom of the Declaration of Emancipation, and that it continued in force in 1963. So it demands the rights to liberty, life, and happiness that black men were just as deserving of as white men. However, that matter remained pending in relation to citizens of color.

There will be no rest or tranquility in America until blacks are guaranteed their rights as citizens. The whirlwinds of rebellion will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the splendorous day of justice emerges.

Luther King understands the urgency of the moment. So he warns the political class and the most conservative sectors of society, which will be constant in the struggle and that they will not rest until they see that the civil rights that correspond to citizens are fully recognized African Americans. The change in consciousness that is brewing in society is unstoppable.

We must avoid committing unfair acts in the process of obtaining our rightful place. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever lead our struggle on the high road of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.

Martin Luther King warns his followers about the dangers of their legitimate struggle degenerating into violence, and understands that for the the African-American community to conquer the place it deserves in American society must observe behavior consistent with its purposes. Hence, he affirms the importance of maintaining dignity and discipline. We must also remember that within the social rights movements themselves there were tendencies that were opposed to the peaceful struggle. However, Luther King distrusted these fighting methods and constantly asserted himself in the values ​​of peaceful struggle and spiritual strength.

The wonderful new militancy that has engulfed the black community should not lead us to mistrust all white people, as many of our brothers Whites, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to understand that their destiny is linked to ours and their freedom is inextricably linked to freedom. our. We cannot walk alone.

It refers to an idea that will be recurrent in the thought of Luther King: in the ideals of equality and fraternity who lead their struggle, understands the importance of recognizing the white community as equal, as sister, and not as enemy. His deep humanistic awareness sets him apart from the revengeful or vindictive speech toward whites that other leaders adopted.

Although we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, my friends, I tell you: I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I dream that one day this nation will rise up and live the true meaning of its creed: "We affirm that these truths are self-evident: that all men are created equal.

This is the most emblematic moment of the speech, where Luther King pronounces the famous phrase that gives the speech its title. Despite the adverse scenario, full of difficulties and racial confrontation, Luther King maintains a tone of optimism, of hope, that invokes the values ​​most deeply rooted in American society since its birth as a nation: the ideals of freedom and equality.

Ring the freedom! And when this happens and when we allow freedom to ring [...], we can hasten the arrival of that day when all the children of God, Blacks and whites, Jews and Christians, Protestants and Catholics, may you join hands and sing the words of the old black spiritual: "Free to the end! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last! "

Martin Luther King's speech closes with these words, where he reaffirms the ideal that sustains the struggles of social demand that he led, moved precisely by the conquest of rights and freedoms for the Afro-American community, but also based on the affirmation of an ideal of equality and fraternity in society American. Thus, the search for justice and freedom are the main ideas that permeate all of Luther King's speech.

Historical-social context

The year 1963 marked the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln, which ended slavery. In this scenario, a massive peaceful demonstration took place that marched on Washington, coordinated by trade union, religious and civil rights organizations. Their motto was "jobs, justice and peace." Its objective was to demand social demands for the Afro-American community of the country.

In those days, the United States was experiencing a tense social situation as a result of racial segregation, more acute in the southern states.

Blacks were denied many of their civil rights and liberties: they still couldn't vote in some states, they were thrown out of some jobs because of their color, they couldn't enter certain premises, their children could not attend certain schools for whites, they were constantly victims of police abuse and, as if this were not enough, for They were persecuted for almost a century by an extremist organization with a racist and xenophobic orientation known as the Ku Klux Klan, the author of heinous crimes against the African Americans.

That day, August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered around the Lincoln Memorial to hear the speech that closed the demonstration by Pastor Martin Luther King. These actions were decisive for the approval, a year later, of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

About Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr., was born in Atlanta in 1929 and died in Memphis in 1968. He was a Baptist pastor, social activist and fighter for the civil rights of African Americans.

He led the fight to end racial segregation in the United States. His stance of protest, although firm and clear, was always against violence. In 1964 his work was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

Since 1986, Martin Luther King Day has been instituted on the third Monday in January to commemorate his political work.