King also uses shorter biblical phrases throughout the speech. Taken from the Deutero-Isaiah, the prophet of consolation, these verses aim to offer hope to those suffering the indignities of racism in the 1960s, just as they offered hope to the exiles in Babylon in the sixth century B.C.E. Isa 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 40:5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” 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.” Toward the end of the speech, in his final section of the “I have a dream that one day” litany, King says: Amos 5:24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. As is typical for him, and much African American preaching, he does not introduce these verses by saying that they are from the Bible, nor does he specify which biblical book they come from scholars of King call his non-attributed use of earlier sources, including the Bible, “voice merging.” Įarly on in the speech, King declaims: “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream,’” quoting Amos: עמוס ה:כד וְיִגַּל כַּמַּיִם מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה כְּנַחַל אֵיתָן. This speech contains two long biblical quotations. What is less-appreciated is the extent to which this speech, characterized as “the rhetorical achievement of a lifetime,” is very biblical. It is well-known that King suffused this, and most of his other speeches, with earlier sources, including the Bible (both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament). It is not only his deep, modulated baritone voice, delivering the speech so eloquently that moves me-it is his use of the Bible, recognized already from the time the speech was given, that inspires me. I teach this speech whenever I can since moving to the South several years ago, I appreciate it even more.
#MARTIN LUTHER KING I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH TEXT SKIN#
In it, King lays out his dream of the future, when black people and white people will live together in brotherhood and people will “no longer be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” King’s personal Bible. In this speech, King speaks about how America has failed to live up to its promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all its citizens. (You can listen to here, or read it here.) Others heard it, or parts of it, on the evening news. Approximately 250,000 people heard it at the National Mall-the largest audience for a Washington rally up to that time. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, given on August 28, 1963, as the culmination of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Several times a year, I listen to Reverend Dr.
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