LAD #26: "I Have a Dream"

Martin Luther King, mirroring the words of Abraham Lincoln, begins his speech with the reality that five score years ago the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, giving the blacks previously contained by slavery a beacon of hope for years to come. Yet, one-hundred years later, Martin Luther King asserts that these African Americans are neither free nor treated fairly. King states that the people have gathered here upon the day of his speech in order to follow up on a previous note. "The note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights' of 'Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'" Using the analogy of a check and a bank, King asserts that whites have marked "insufficient funds" for their benefit on their check of freedom. King wishes to cash the check that is far overdue for blacks, "refus(ing) to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. (He) refuse(s) to believe that there is insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation." He wants to secure freedom and enable blacks to enjoy the riches of justice. Blacks deserve their freedoms issued under the Emancipation Proclamation, and King asserts that they cannot wait any longer or use gradual methods in order to gain what they desire. Rather, King states that a revolt will continue until the "bright day where justice emerges." They will fight for their freedom with dignity and pride, but they must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence." King procliams that he has a dream that is "deeply rooted in the American dream." This dream is that African Americans can live peacefully with their white brothers and sisters and that his children can "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." He concludes the speech by repeating the words of an old African spiritual; "'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"'