On the 28th of August 1963, several hundred thousand people congregated at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC for a series of speeches.
One of the key presenters was Martin Luther King.
He spoke his manifesto for 17 minutes.
And his ‘I have a dream’ speech became a symbolic turning point in the call for racial equality and an end to discrimination.
Here’s some key excerpts from his 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 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 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 a table 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.”
“Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
General Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream
Full speech transcript: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Complete Speech Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
Typically, we think of a manifesto as a written document. And, they’re worth writing down.
In this case, Martin Luther King’s delivery is a key part of it’s expression.
This combination is widely regarded as one of the most powerful speeches ever made.
Of particular interest is the call to end something: discrimination.
And, the vivid descriptions of how we’ll know when the new future has been accomplished: “…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 get goose-bumps every time I hear this. How does this manifesto make you feel?
How potent would this manifesto have been if it had only been written down?
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