I Have A Dream

I Have A Dream
                                                                   -Martin Luther King

Historical and Cultural Background

From about the year 1600 (Western calendar), white people in North America brought Negroes (black Americans) from Africa to be slaves. The slaves are owned by the farmers. The slave cannot leave the farm and must work without being paid.

In 1787, the constitution of U.S.A. stated that all men are created equal, and that all men have the right to life, liberty (freedom) and the pursuit of happiness. But these rules were not for the Negro slaves. They were not allowed to live like the white people and they were not free.

In 1862, President Lincoln made the Emancipation Declaration. This said that all slaves were free. They could leave the farms where they had been slaves and must be paid for work they did.

However, the Negroes were still not treated equally. In many states in the southern part of the U.S.A. black children were not allowed to go to the same schools as white children, and black people were not allowed into the hotels, restaurants and buses that white people used. This was called segregation and it still existed at the time Martin Luther King made his speech in 1963.

Many Negroes were also poor. They lived in very bad quality houses in special areas called ghettos- where white people did not live. They were treated very badly by white people and it was difficult for them to get good jobs or to get a good education.

Summary:

“I Have A Dream” is a speech delivered by Martin Luther King, the greatest leader of the black civil rights movement. The speech was made on August 28, 1963 in front of Lincoln Memorial when the Americans were celebrating 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. There were 200,000 people, black and white listening to their non-violent leader and his unforgettable speech.

King was not satisfied with the condition of America where the black people were facing social problems. In 1862, Lincoln had signed on the constitution that had freed the Blacks from their slavery but the condition was not improved for so long period. The Blacks were suffering from the destructive flame of injustice. The declaration of freedom made by Lincoln came as the daybreak in the darkness of Negro’s life but it didn’t end the discrimination between the white and black in the country.

Lather King further states that the racial injustice has weaken the strength of America. Black people didn’t have the right for voting, they were not allowed to enter into the motels that were built for the whites, they had to live inside the ghettos and the black children were not allowed to go to the schools where the white children went. So, he asks his people to continue the struggle until they could enjoy the true means of liberty. But he alerts his followers not to come into violent action for the fate of the black depended on the mutual support of the whites. The dream of integrated America could be achieved only by spreading the affectionate hands towards the whites. So, he kindly asks his people to share hands in hands with the white people as well because hatred towards them could only bring tragedy.

Luther King is so hopeful for the future that he has a beautiful dream of America. He has a dream that one day, the white and the black will walk together hands in hands. The children of the white will walk together with the children of the black as brothers and the sisters, and the strength of one will be judged by the content of one’s character not by the colour of one’s skin. He has a dream that the discrimination will completely end in America and the true freedom will be enjoyed by everyone equally. King’s dream of future is the dream of united America.

For this majestic achievement, King raises voice to sing the song of freedom together, and to spread the voice of freedom to all parts of America, so that all Americans can sing together “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!”