“I Have A Dream”

Prominent American dreamer persuasively impacts a nation with his prescient vision of what could and should be.

Principled pacifist passionately preaches

progressive pervasive profoundly

powerful preeminent

pronouncement

Publicised pertinent propelling prophetic

philosophical perspicacious proponent

proudly poignantly

proclaiming

“If America is to be a great nation, this (dream) must become true”

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Author’s Note

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I have copied Dr Kings’s full speech and posted the original video below. It seems someone has created an excellent quality AI version which is on YouTube. This is definitely worth a watch. It truly doesn’t matter how many times I hear this, it moves me deeply each and every time. The courage and love in the heart of this man, his eloquence, his wisdom, his leadership are all truly remarkable.

How honoured we are to have access to the video footage of this historic speech. Please do listen. Even if you have heard it before. For the more we all imagine a world where there is true equality between all beings, the faster we realise it. Before I break into John Lennon song, I will full stop this!

"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.

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.

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, and 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, and 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.

And this will be the day—this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with 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 snow-capped 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!”

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly afterward. The assassination of Dr. King led to widespread shock, grief, and outrage throughout the United States and around the world.

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Below; President John. F. Kennedy delivered the news of Dr King’s assassination to his April 4th, 1968 to crowds in Indianapolis, just 63 days before his own murder. He reinforces Dr King’s message for unity, love and peace. Riots erupted in most major cities across America that night but Indianapolis remained calm.

As a further tribute to Dr King, I leave you with another speech he gave on choosing your life’s blueprint. It remains as relevant today as it was 60 years ago. He continues to inspire generation after generation with his wisdom and message to live without the weight of bitterness in our hearts.

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And finally!

I include the video below to serve as an example of this. Dr King’s speech has been used to create this song and it is a truly inspired creation. Whoever thought of this? Genius.