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Improvising a Dream
United States History: Modern America
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is a revered cornerstone of the civil rights movement. What's not widely known, though, is that this famed oratory was largely improvised.
On August 28, 1963, the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held to advocate for civil rights and economic rights for Black Americans and to call for the eradication of racism. The event featured a diverse array of speakers and musical performances. Dr. King was set to deliver the closing speech. Historians say that organizing the protest march took so much of his time that Dr. King never had a chance to nail down exactly what he was going to say.
According to Clarence Jones, Dr. King's lawyer and speechwriter, who wrote about his work and friendship with Dr. King, Dr. King sat down with his team to draft the speech 12 hours before the march. Team members had varying ideas about what he should say. Some advised him to mention specific groups like labor unions. Others said he should make a political argument about jobs and housing. Still others recommended featuring religious quotations in his speech.
Jones kept track of the ideas. He took notes and wrote a first draft, which, according to everyone in the room, would require some revisions before it was suitable. But by that time, it had gotten late. The meeting ended so the team could get some sleep.
The morning of the march, Dr. King had a handwritten final copy of the speech. It was basically what Jones had written the night before, and notably, it didn't include the line "I have a dream."
In a few short hours, Dr. King was in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., delivering the speech to a crowd of about 250,000 people. At first, he read what was on the paper, including a passage about the Constitution and a comparison of America's commitment to civil rights to a check that couldn't be cashed. Dr. King's speech was scheduled to be about four minutes long. Then, something happened that caused him to speak for 16 minutes and deliver one of the most famous speeches in human history.
Standing close to the stage was Dr. King's friend, famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. According to Jones, Jackson, with her dynamic voice, interjected, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" Historians don't know whether Dr. King heard Jackson or not, but at that moment, he paused, put aside his notes, and said, "Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream."
And from that point on, he ad-libbed, according to Jones.
Jones said Dr. King had an extraordinary knack for spontaneously speaking about ideas he had read about or things he'd said before. For the improvised parts, Dr. King drew on sources like the song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and the old spiritual "Free at Last." The "I have a dream" phrase didn't come out of nowhere, either. Dr. King had used the refrain before, though not as memorably, in a speech he'd made a couple of months earlier in Detroit.
Dr. King's delivery at the March on Washington stood apart from his previous speeches, however. His audience—teeming with people who'd traveled cross-country to join together to protest in the oppressive summer heat—may have been exhausted by then, but Dr. King's four simple words were infused with a power that ignited their energy, emotions, and imaginations. On that hot, historic day, "I have a dream" took on a special meaning as an expression of Dr. King's commitment to freedom, nonviolence, and social justice—an expression that still inspires hope more than 50 years later.
QUESTION 4
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Which of these statements is contrary to the ideas presented in this Article?
Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was near the stage when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. required a lawyer and speechwriter to ensure all his public speeches were memorable.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Lawyer and speechwriter Clarence Jones wrote about his work and friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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