"I Have a Dream"

On August 28th, 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the famed "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. His speech included the following quote:

"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!"

However, fifty years later, "racial discrimination is still very prevalent in the lives of members of ethnoracial minorities" (Newman, 381).

This BBC story, featuring Clayborne Carson, one of the demonstrators at the March on Washington in 1963, discusses the changes America has seen regarding race and equality since the civil rights movement. Ultimately, the story focuses on the extent to which president Obama has brought America closer to MLK's vision. Does King's dream remain unfulfilled? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21034472


Sources:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html
Newman, David (2012). Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life: 9th Edition. SAGE Publications.