I'm sure most of you have either heard or read Martin Luther King's speech I Have a Dream and know it is a speech about Civil Rights. But have you ever truly stopped and thought about the depths of the words spoken?? King was and still is a true legend. On the 28th of August in front of the Lincoln Memorial and the nearby reflecting pool King spoke to approximately 200,000 black and white individuals on the current issue of black rights. At the beginning of his speech he recognizes that 125 years ago, Abraham Lincoln stood in the exact same spot where he was standing and signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The signing of this important document was the first light of freedom for slaves. Starting his speech by recognizing that they had overcome slavery draws attention to the fact that African Americans are not giving up and are still fighting for the rights they deserve. King also draws attention to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and how it was a promise to every American. This means no matter what skin color, black or white, are guaranteed the "unalienable rights" of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." His reasoning for pointing this out was to show that America had failed to uphold this promise to American citizens of color. In his speech, King's goal was to inform people on what had happened, what was happening, and what he hoped would one day happen. He had a dream and that dream was that one day all men would be treated equal no matter what skin color. King's aim was to inspire his audience. He used bold statements which he repeated multiple times. With his speech, King was able to give hope and inspiration to his listeners that things would one day change for African American people.
The part about the promise and the check; that's the key part people forget. Play it up.
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