Nakul Sridhar | 1313016, II JPEnglish
I HAVE A DREAM
WHAT?
I Have a Dream is a speech given by African-American Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.
WHEN?
The speech was delivered on 28 August 1963 during the March on Washington, and became a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement.
WHERE?
King spoke from the steps of the famous Lincoln Memorial, which is an American national monument, and was constructed in honour of Abraham Lincoln , in Washington D.C.
SIGNIFICANCE
The speech is hailed as one of the best examples of oratory skills and helped gather momentum in the anti-slavery movement in the USA. King spoke to a crowd of 250,000 people, while millions more watched on television. The event was a
…show more content…
I have a dream...” “I Have a Dream” can be summarized in the view above. The larger the word is, the more its frequency of usage.
The repetition of phrases such as “I have a dream” and “Let freedom ring” is like the usage of high quality concrete – it holds together the speech, at the same time, there would be no speech without these phrases.
THE REACTION AND CONSEQUENCES
The public reaction to the speech was positive and in favour of the great humanitarian. New York Times carried flattering headline, “Peroration by Dr. King Sums Up a Day the Capital Will Remember” while Mowtown Company made quick sales by selling illegal copies of the audio. As a culmination of his efforts to bring equality to the citizens of America, Martin Luther king was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
King’s plea for an American dream that would extend to all citizens, regardless of race, is credited with helping make possible the passage, one year later, of the landmark Civil Rights Act, followed in 1965 by passage of the Voting Rights