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The following is the exact text of the spoken speech, transcribed from recordings.

I 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.


Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, 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, 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.

This is our hope. 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.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a 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."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Whoo! *Claps, wipes tears* Lol. I remember reading that for my English II class, such a great speech. Him, Gandhi, Kennedy, ah, too bad they all had to die so horribly. Why is it all the good ones die?

Need a song like that, I should write it, lol.

Peace to all, GuitarAnatomy.

Hard to believe it's been almost 40 years.

One for history. Thanks for posting that, Craig.

Should be required reading for all.
Thanks Craig.

Well, thanks for that guys. I have been fending off negative remarks all day for posting this same speech on my band's MySpace site. Racism, which is merely rooted in ignorance, sure as hell dies a looooong and slow death.

King, in my estimation, was a great man. Did he plaguerize part of his doctoral thesis? Apparently so. Was he weak when it came to booze, and some extra-marital affairs? Apparently so.

Nevertheless, he laid is life out to slaughter, time and time again, to bring equality to millions. He did not "assume" it to be a "possibility" that he would be killed... he KNEW that he would be killed, that it was only a question of "when" and not "if". Still, he tirelessly worked to bring about change for the better. He literally was willing to trade his life to make this happen.

My Bible tells me that Jesus said "Greater love hath no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends." Jesus didn't merely utter these words, but he lived them. King too, layed down his life, following Jesus' example as well as the principles of non-violence, which he learned from Christ as well as Ghandi. All three men, sought change and betterment for others. All three laid down their lives willingly. All three were murdered doing so.

King was a great man. It takes a great man, to forfeit his own life, so that other's may live. King, despite his humanly faults, which we all are guilty of to one degree or another, practiced that "greater love" that Jesus' spoke of. And for that, he deserves our respect.

Thank you for posting Craig. I am sorry to say I'm not surprised that you have gotten some grief on your website for posting this. It seems that southern rock is the music of choice for many people with "that mindset". I don't know of a better way to put it.

i must admit i didnt know today was Martin Luther King day but im delighted to find out he has his own day of rememberance...

he was a voice of reason in a crazy world...

R.I.P.

neanderpaul wrote:Thank you for posting Craig. I am sorry to say I'm not surprised that you have gotten some grief on your website for posting this. It seems that southern rock is the music of choice for many people with "that mindset". I don't know of a better way to put it.

Yeah, there really is no other way to put it. But in truth, hatred is not limited to Southern Rock. Country fans have their share of racists, and skin heads almost have their own genre of rock for it.

If a hate filled heart didn't have skin color available, they would seperate over hair color, eye color, or anything else that was convenient. Hatred is a disease of the soul, not something based in logic.

The amazing thing to me, is that the father's of Southern Rock, i.e. Skynyrd and Allman Brothers, etc... were not racists. The Ballad of Curtis Lowe, is a virtual tribute to the black influenced blues, of which all rock finds it's origins.

The world in some ways has come a long way, but Lord, how clear it is, how far there is to go still.

Well,

Here we are past MLK Day and I'm still reading bulletins about the "truth" of Dr. King.

I asked one such poster how he felt about a now deceased Republican Senator from Texas, by the name of John Tower. In the late 80's he was nominated for Secretary of Defense. Being one of his favorite bartenders of the time, I had to shake my head, when I watched him on the confirmation hearings, telling the world that the "rumors" of his alcoholism and womanizing were untrue.

Not only was he an alcoholic, and a womanizer, but the good Senator from Texas preferred black prostitutes in particular. I personally watched him escort one into his suite at the very exclusive hotel I bartended at, and brought him the bottle of Crystal Champaign that he ordered for her in his room.

What would the citizens of Texas have thought about that?

"Greater love hath no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends." Jesus

-takes even more courage to post this than the latter... kinda suprised you didn't take any heat for that CraigMaxim.

'telling-it-on-the mountain' is often an unpopular thing... and didn't work out well for either men (Jesus or MLKjr)... in their lifetimes.

MLK and Jesus would both suggest more tollerance... (even towards the KKK/racists).

"Love thy enemy". "Do not judge lest yee be judged". Etc. "to find good in those who are not like you, and loving on those people who it is hard to love on".

oh, and to the guy/girl/people who said "why do all the good ones die":
-we all die. it's the 'being good' that's the important part.


mv

MrMikeV wrote:

MLK and Jesus would both suggest more tollerance... (even towards the KKK/racists).

Not true. They both preached "love" towards enemies, but NOT necessarily tolerance. M.L.K. marched PRECISELY because he was not willing to TOLERATE the evils of inequality based on race. We can tolerate racist speech, but NOT racial injustice.

We should tolerate no injustice, I feel this is our greatist duty and that off our Republic. There are a lot of people who say we should not "get envolved here or there " And although I have no doubt that at some level that envolvement has alterior motive. I feel that the majority of Americans who dont want to be envolved are the same type of people who will see a woman being raped in a parking lot and not raise a finger to help her they will say "Thats the police's job" then they go home to the house that the goverment owe's them eat the food the government should provide, see the doctor that is paid for by anyone but themselves.
Give a man a fish he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a life time. Ok IRMINSUL you will love this one !
If the mans to lazy to fish, let him be hungry and teach his children to fish. P. S. Jesus tolerated the money changers right out of his fathers house with a whip and still he loved them.

sanshouheil wrote:
P. S. Jesus tolerated the money changers right out of his fathers house with a whip and still he loved them.

Someone has the writers' bug lol