* A day late, but here it is. Yesterday got away from me.
People make speeches all the time, but some have more impact than others. It is over fifty years since civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, made his famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 28th, 1963, but phrases from it, including, “ I have a dream’, “Let freedom ring”, and “Free at last,” are still much quoted.
Dr. King made the speech to the people who had joined him for the March on Washington For Jobs And Freedom. Usually just known as The March on Washington, it was organized to focus attention on the fact that African-Americans did not enjoy equal rights with Caucasians.
Between 200,000-250,000 people made the march, including such celebrities as singers Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, and Bob Dylan; actors, Ossie Davis, Diahann Carroll, Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston, James Garner, Paul Newman, and Marlon Brando; film director Joseph Mankiewicz, writer James Baldwin, baseball player Jackie Robinson, and many others.
For some coverage of the March, including the speech, go to:
Time Travelling With Kids 