LAD #26: MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech

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LAD #26: MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech

MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech was extremely powerful, and it shared an important message about civil rights. King begins by alluding to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation. He then states that the freedom that the Proclamation should have given African Americans is still denied to them through segregation and discrimination. He then describes their protest as "cashing a check," stating that they have long been denied the rights guaranteed to them in the Declaration of Independence, and now, they are demanding them from the "bank of justice." He also emphasizes that action must come immediately and that a slow approach would not be accepted. He almost confirms that protests will continue to shake the country until change is achieved. He also pairs this with his statement that there should at no point be violent protest, regardless of some of the other tactics being taken by protesters around the country. King affirms that the white man is in fact their ally, as proven by the people at the demonstration, and that they should not be alienated. King then begins to list off the injustices that must end before the movement can stop. After this, King comes to the most famous part of the speech, in which he states that he has a dream that white and black children can at some point love each other as siblings. After this extremely powerful section, he tells the crowd that with this hope, they must go back to their homes and continue to push for equality. He quotes "My Country Tis' of Thee" stating that they must continue to push for progress under freedom rings across the nation and all people are "free at last."

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This speech reminded me of our president, Barack Obama, because I'm sure MLK also dreamed that we would have an African-American president. I also saw similarities between MLK's message and the message Obama ran on, which was about hope.