12 Chapter 8 I Have a Dream

Chapter 8 I Have a Dream Birmingham proved to black people all around the country what protesting could do. From North Carolina to Tennessee to Oklahoma, black Americans marched and held sit-ins. They held protests in front of government buildings. Gradually, thousands of lunch counters, hotels, schools, and parks became integrated. Then, on June 11, 1963, President Kennedy asked Congress to pass a Civil Rights Bill. Kennedy said, "I am . . . asking the Congress to enact legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public—hotels, restaurants and theaters, retail stores and similar establishments. This seems to me to be an elementary right."

On August 28, 1963, Martin and other black leaders led a march to Washington, D.C. They wanted to show Congress how many people supported the Civil Rights Bill. More than two hundred and fifty thousand Americans came from all over the United States. Many rode in cars and buses. Others flew in airplanes. Some walked. Some roller-skated. Most of the marchers were black. But there were also thousands of white people. They, too, felt that the laws of segregation were unjust. The people marched toward the Lincoln Memorial, singing along the way.

Many leaders spoke that day, but Martin was unforgettable. Martin had written a speech. But he did not read it. Once he faced the crowd, he remembered a speech he'd given a few months before. In that speech, he had used the phrase "I have a dream" over and over to express his hopes for the future. Martin wanted to use those same words again. So he put down his script and spoke. His dream was "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. . . ." He had a dream that one day people would judge his four young children for who they were and not by the color of their skin.

Martin's speech ended on a powerful note of hope. He believed that, when that day came, everyone could join hands and sing the words to an old slave song: "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." The march and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech were carried on television stations. It was the first time millions of Americans heard Martin speak. His words inspired the crowd. His words inspired

the nation. His words inspired the entire world. Because of this speech, Martin Luther King, Jr., became the voice of the civil rights movement. THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

ALMOST EXACTLY ONE HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S SPEECH TO CONGRESS ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL, PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN DELIVERED THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. IT, TOO, WAS ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS. IT IS STILL ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS SPEECHES In AMERICAN HISTORY.