In the history of every great nation. There sometimes appears a singular moment which so sums up this struggle and challenges the hearts of the people of that time that it becomes a moment both historical and mythic. In the long history of African Americans in this country, one such unique moment was the delivery of what came to be known as the "I Have a Dream" speech during the historic March on Washington in August 1963.
There are many things about this speech that are so poetic that the text of the speech has become one of the great historical texts of the history of the nation and black history. This is why practically every schoolboy can recite the most impressive words from a speech that…
And so, even as we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It's a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live 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 my four young children will live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
What is most remarkable about this text, if you read the whole text, is the hope. And it is a wonderful tradition for every family to read this speech, perhaps on Martin Luther King's birthday, which is now a public holiday. Dr. King urged his people to look up and look with hope to tomorrow. But more than that, he called on all people to work together for a common hope, the hope of achieving the American dream he says he talks about so passionately.
The speech took place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, within sight of Congress, the reflecting pool and the White House on the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C. Dr. King called it hallowed, ground reflecting his deep legacy and respect for it. Icons of this country and his deep love for the motherland, which is also reflected in the speech.
But it is a manifestation of struggle because it spoke to the fact that black people in America still do not live in an openly free and equal position with all other citizens. Dr. King did not lose touch with the reality of the hard lives African Americans lived in the United States. That is why this speech is so perfectly crafted and so perfectly delivered. It combines the harsh reality and determination of black leaders and the African-American population to make the world a better place for themselves and their children. With the hope and optimism that this was a country that would not put up with the oppression and discrimination that sustained black people. People down from slavery.
It is a speech that issued a call to action in the "Now" time frame, a call to action that many in the houses of power in our country have taken note of. They immediately took measures to move the process of recovery and repair of the broken social system in the right direction. One of the outcomes of this speech was the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forever changed the fabric of the country in the legal restrictions it placed on discrimination in all aspects of American life.
If not for the "I Have a Dream" speech, the March on Washington on that hot and humid August day might have been just another of the many protests and events of the civil rights era. Instead, it became an iconic moment in American and black history that changed Dr. He made King a national hero for both black and white people and encouraged the movement and the nation to take matters into their own hands and make things better for all people.
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