Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and uttered words that continue to reverberate in the American consciousness and beyond. That speech, delivered August 28, 1963, was not the speech King had prepared. At the prompting of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, he began to speak extemporaneously about his dream and the foundations of power shook. The following video speaks of the power of those moments.
Video via WSJDigitalNetwork on YouTube.
We are still striving to meet and surpass Dr. King’s beautiful dream. You can hear the “I have a dream” speech in its entirety here. Listen for the pause at 12:03 in which Dr. King makes the decision to go off-book. Powerful.