00:00On a hot day in August 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech that would define the civil rights movement and his legacy.
00:10This, of course, was his I Have a Dream speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
00:18I 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.
00:40The March on Washington served as a massive push for economic and political justice for African Americans.
00:47Held during the year celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, crowds marched on the National Mall to watch a variety of musical performances and speeches.
00:59Dr. King, a Baptist preacher and prominent civil rights leader, was scheduled to speak towards the end of the day, his debut on the national stage.
01:07Up until that point, King mostly addressed small crowds at black churches, rallies, or fundraisers.
01:14This time, he would be seen by nearly 250,000 people on the ground, as well as millions at home watching on television.
01:23This was an opportunity to reach a wide audience and persuade the public and the government to take action against racial injustice.
01:32The night before, King worked with a close group of advisors to get the speech just right.
01:40They worked through the night, settling on a final draft in the pre-dawn hours of August 28th.
01:46Interestingly, the phrase, I have a dream, a phrase he used in earlier speeches, was nowhere to be found in this copy.
01:54The words wouldn't manifest until almost halfway into Dr. King's speech, when gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who had performed earlier in the day, called out to him from the sidelines to tell them about the dream.
02:08King set his prepared remarks aside and improvised the rest, crafting a soaring speech that would sear into the minds of millions of Americans.
02:16No, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
02:27The speech was divided into two parts.
02:29The first listed the injustices that African Americans faced, segregation, police brutality, disenfranchisement and discrimination, and urged a call to nonviolent action.
02:40The second launched into King's dream of peace and racial harmony, a vision of a future in which people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
02:53I have a dream.
02:55Highlighting King's skills as a preacher, I have a dream was part sermon and part poetry, using rhetorical devices like repetition, rhyme and vivid metaphor to drive his points home.
03:06It was peppered with historic, biblical and literary references that moved the crowd.
03:12This message of struggle and hope became the defining moment not only of King's career, but also the civil rights movement.
03:20Both the speech and the March on Washington were credited with helping secure the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark piece of legislation that ended segregation and banned discrimination on the basis of race or sex in the workplace.
03:40Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last.
03:45The speech also resonated with activists around the globe.
03:53I have a dream.
03:55The phrase that wasn't even meant to be in his final draft appeared in political actions all around the world.
04:01It's considered one of the world's most transformative and influential speeches, alongside others like Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Winston Churchill's blood, toil, tears and sweat.
04:12I have a dream is only one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s many achievements, but it's nonetheless one of the most pivotal.
04:20I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
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