Image via Complex Original
Tomorrow America will look to its capital to commemorate the incredible legacy four short words left on the nation and its history.
In the summer of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took the podium at the Lincoln Memorial in front of an estimated 250,000 people, with millions more watching at home. People listened and watched, waiting for King to culminate the largest civil rights gathering in American history and hoping to lay witness to his already well-respected oratory skills. And, King did not dissapoint. In a 16 minute speech, King spoke of equality, progress, and most vividly, a dream.
Now, years later, we still speak of that singular vision. When experts note great speakers, King is never far from their lips. When older people remember life-changing moments, many reference King's words on that hot day in August. His speech at the March on Washington brought an air of hope to a racially divisive country. And now, on its 50th anniversary, it still inspires promises of yet more change. In honor of his powerful and pivotal words, we compiled a list of 20 little known facts about his "I Have a Dream" speech. Gain a deeper understanding of what's behind Dr. King's famous words.
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20. People traveled insane distances to participate in the march and hear the speech.
One teen rollerskated from Chicago while a group of friends walked over 200 miles from New York to the nation's capital for the march and King's speech.
[via ABCNews]
19. A retired college basketball coach has the only hard copy of the speech.
Nike International Basketball Director George Raveling still has the typewritten copy of the speech MLK, Jr. handed to him as he walked off the podium.
[via USATODAY]
18. "I Have A Dream" put MLK, Jr. on the FBI's watchlist.
In a memo written two days after the speech, FBI Agent William C. Sullivan labeled King "as the most dangerous Negro...in this Nation" due to his incredible influence, which only increased following the march. The FBI then heightened their investigation into King and his civil rights organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
17. MLK, Jr. now watches the spot where he delivered his famed speech.
In 2011, a 30-foot-tall stone relief of King was revealed to the public as part of the MLK, Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C. The statue is positioned so that King's gaze is focused on the Lincoln Memorial, where he gave his oft-quoted speech.
[via washington.org]
16. Bob Dylan opened for MLK, Jr.
A then 22-year old Bob Dylan peformed a duet with singer Joan Baez before King took the podium.
[via MSNBC]
15. MLK, Jr. Oratory Skills Topped FDR's and JFK.'s
In a panel of speech experts, the "I Have A Dream" speech was ranked first in top speeches of all time, over the public speaking skills of former presidents John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelet.
[via Telegraph]
14. He quoted a Negro spiritual.
With carefully selected allusions, like the one to the Negro spiritual "Free At Last," MLK, Jr. reminded the country of the progress already made towards racial equality and the miles left to go.
13. The Republican Party may have inspired the speech's closing words.
Coincidence or not, parallels have been drawn between the ending of King's speech and that of a speech given by politician Archibald Carey, Jr. at the 1952 Republican National Convention. Both speeches ended in references to "My Country Tis of Thee" and repetitions of "let freedom ring."
[via liberty-tree.ca]
12. The March on Washington was for freedom and labor issues in America.
The "I Have A Dream" speech became the march's major highlight, with its focus on racial issues and equality. But the March on Washington was a two-fold protest for freedom and jobs.
[via aflcio.org]
11. MLK, Jr. spoke of the "dream" before the March on Washington.
King referenced his "dream" at previous rallies and protests, but never before the 250,000 that stood before him in Washington, and the millions more watching from their homes.
[via stanford.edu]
10. The speech referenced Shakespeare.
King alluded to Shakespeare's tragedy "Richard III" with the line "this sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn." One of several cultural references King made throughout the 16 minute speech.
[via Telegraph]
9. "Normalcy, Never Again" and "A Canceled Check" were two of the speech's original titles.
Today, the speech is almost exclusively referred to as the "I Have a Dream" speech, but different titles were given to the speech's first drafts where King's famous dream went unmentioned.
[via empowernetwork.com]
8. Just 12 hours before, the speech didn't exist.
King was so focused on organizing march logistics that he spent very little time preparing his speech. So little time, in fact, that he was still unsure of his exact words the night before the march. The final draft, which he diverged from, was finished in the early morning hours on the day of the march.
[via theleafchronicle.com]
7. The speech was an homage to Abraham Lincoln.
The speech begins with an allusion to the Gettysburg address, but King did not stop there in paying his respects. He intentionally delivered the speech 100 years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, emphasizing the historical significance of the moment.
[via core-online.org]
6. He was once considered an average public speaker.
MLK, Jr. will probably always be known as one of history's great orators, yet in grade school he recieved a 'C' in public speaking.
[via Yahoo]
5. KIng's Speech Was Too Long
MLK, Jr's speech was supposed to be four minutes but he spoke for sixteen. Speakers who went before him were cut off if they went over the time limit.
[via USA Today]
4. It made history in more ways than one.
Not only did the speech become one of the most famous in history, it helped King become the second black person to win a Nobel Peace Prize one year later.
[via History]
3. The "I Have A Dream" speech is a rap.
In 2006, rapper Common released a single titled "I Have a Dream" that heavily sampled King's speech spliced with will.i.am's vocals and rap verses. The song peaked at 16 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and was featured on the film Freedom Writers.
[via Billboard]
2. The speech almost didn't happen.
Wyatt Walker, King's adviser, told him not to include the 'I have a dream' lines. Walker felt it was "trite" and "cliche" and King had "used it too many times already."
[via The Guardian]
