i have a dream

i have a dreamby martin luther king, jr.delivered on the steps at the lincoln memorial in washingtond.c. on august 28, 1963five score years ago, a great american, in whose symbolic shadowwe stand signed the emancipation proclamation. this momentousdecree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of negroslaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.it came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night ofcaptivity.but one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact thatthe negro is still not free. one hundred years later, the lifeof the negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles ofsegregation and the chains of discrimination. one hundred yearslater, the negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in themidst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. one hundred yearslater, the negro is still languishing in the corners of americansociety and finds himself an exile in his own land. so we havecome here today to dramatize an appalling 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 wordsof the constitution and the declaration of independence, theywere signing a promissory note to which every american was tofall heir. this note was a promise that all men would beguarranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness.it is obvious today that america has defaulted on thispromissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.instead of honoring this sacred obligation, america has giventhe negro people a bad check which has come back markedinsufficient funds.justice is bankrupt. we refuse to believe that there areinsufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of thisnation. so we have come to cash this check -- a check that willgive us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security ofjustice. we have also come to this hallowed spot to remindamerica of the fierce urgency of now. this is no time to engagein the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drugof gradualism. now is the time to rise from the dark anddesolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racialjustice. now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to allof god's children. now is the time to lift our nation from thequicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock ofbrotherhood.it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of themoment and to underestimate the determination of the negro. thissweltering summer of the negro's legitimate discontent will notpass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom andequality. nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and willnow be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returnsto business as usual. there will be neither rest nor tranquilityin america until the negro is granted his citizenship rights.the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundationsof our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.but there is something that i must say to my people who stand onthe warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. inthe process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guiltyof wrongful deeds. let us not seek to satisfy our thirst forfreedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane ofdignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protestto degenerate into physical violence. again and again we mustrise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soulforce. the marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the negrocommunity must not lead us to distrust of all white people, formany of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence heretoday, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up withour destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to ourfreedom. we cannot walk alone.and as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall marchahead. we cannot turn back. there are those who are asking thedevotees of civil rights, "when will you be satisfied?" we cannever be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigueof travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways andthe hotels of the cities. we cannot be satisfied as long as thenegro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.we can never be satisfied as long as a negro in mississippicannot vote and a negro in new york believes he has nothing forwhich to vote. no, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not besatisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousnesslike a mighty stream.i am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of greattrials and tribulations. some of you have come fresh from narrowcells. some of you have come from areas where your quest forfreedom left you battered by the storms of persecution andstaggered by the winds of police brutality. you have been theveterans of creative suffering. continue to work with the faiththat unearned suffering is redemptive.go back to mississippi, go back to alabama, go back to georgia,go back to louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of ournorthern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can andwill be changed. let us not wallow in the valley of despair.i say to you today, my friends, that in spite of thedifficulties and frustrations of the moment, i still have adream. it is a dream deeply rooted in the american dream.i have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and liveout the true meaning of its creed: "we hold these truths to beself-evident: that all men are created equal."i have a dream that one day on the red hills of georgia the sonsof former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be ableto sit down together at a table of brotherhood.i have a dream that one day even the state of mississippi, adesert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice andoppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom andjustice.i have a dream that my four children will one day live in anation where they will not be judged by the color of their skinbut by the content of their character.i have a dream today.i have a dream that one day the state of alabama, whosegovernor's lips are presently dripping with the words ofinterposition and nullification, will be transformed into asituation where little black boys and black girls will be ableto join hands with little white boys and white girls and walktogether as sisters and brothers.i have a dream today.i have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, everyhill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will bemade plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, andthe glory of the lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall seeit together.this is our hope. this is the faith with which i return to thesouth. with this faith we will be able to hew out of themountain of despair a stone of hope. with this faith we will beable to transform the jangling discords of our nation into abeautiful symphony of brotherhood. with this faith we will beable 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 tosing with a new meaning, "my country, 'tis of thee, sweet landof liberty, of thee i sing. land where my fathers died, land ofthe pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."and if america is to be a great nation this must become true. solet freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of new hampshire.let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of new york. letfreedom ring from the heightening alleghenies of pennsylvania!let freedom ring from the snowcapped rockies of colorado!let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of california!but not only that; let freedom ring from stone mountain ofgeorgia!let freedom ring from lookout mountain of tennessee!let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill ofmississippi. from every mountainside, let freedom ring.when we let freedom ring, whem we let it ring from every villageand every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will beable to speed up that day when all of god's children, black menand white men, jews and gentiles, protestants and catholics,will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the oldnegro spiritual, "free at last! free at last! thank godalmighty, we are free at last!"