Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to
you today, my friends.
And 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."2
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!
Enrico Costa
ReplyDeleteI think that this speech is one of the greatest oration of all time in fact King combined his reason with his passion and with his determination. He pronounced his words in front of a crowded square and King knew too that he had an even bigger TV audience, and that his moment came at a time when the fight for civil rights meeting a critical point of resistance.Looking back at King’s speech we can surely say that it had a massive impact on those days’society.He was only 34 when he dreamed the dream , and 40 when he was assassinated.Today he would have continued to struggle for justice and for his country.This was stolen the day he was shot.