I HAVE A DREAM

Martin Luther King Jr.

Who is Martin Luther King?
 Who is Martin Luther King?
Social activist and Baptist minister who
played a key role in the American civil
rights movement from the mid-1950s until
his assassination in 1968
Head of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, which promoted non-violent
tactics to achieve civil rights.
Nobel Peace Prize awardee - 1964
 Background
Emancipation Proclamation
-the order that declared all slaves free, issued
by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1,
1863.
-It was an important turning point in the Civil
War, transforming the fight to preserve the
nation into a battle for human freedom.
 Background
Jim Crow laws
- State and local laws that supported racial
segregation and discrimination against
black people in the U.S. South, until they
were finally abolished in 1965

- “Jim Crow” – another name for “negro”

 Background
Jim Crow laws examples:
Physical segregation of public schools,
public parks and beaches, and public
transportation
Drinking fountains, restrooms, and
restaurants were segregated, requiring
“blacks” to use separate facilities.
Prohibition against Interracial Marriage
 Background
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• This was the organization that Martin Luther
King, Jr. led during the '60s Civil Rights
Movement. The group consisted of political
activists as well as religious leaders and
clergy members. For MLK, Christianity was
intertwined with the dream of progress.
 Background
Negro
• In the 1960s, this was a common term used
to refer to African Americans. Both African
Americans and whites used the word in
public and print, and "I Have a Dream" uses
it frequently.
 Background
Non-Violence
• Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy of
protest. Some other African American
leaders, like Malcolm X, considered
violence to be an option, in order to achieve
the goals of African Americans. King
admired Gandhi, an Indian revolutionary
leader who advocated non-violence.
 Background
Civil Disobedience
• Another method of protest. Basically, this means
refusing to follow an unjust law (King argued that
an unjust law was not a legitimate law).
• King went to jail when he led protests in
Birmingham in spite of a judge's order against
protesting. "Sit-ins" are another example. For this
protest, African Americans would show up in
places they weren't "supposed" to be, and sit there,
non-violently chilling until people took notice.
 Background
Spiritual
• In this context, this word refers to a religious
song or hymnal. In the tradition of African
American Baptist churches, singing spiritual
is a big part of the service.
 Background
Police Brutality
• Race-motivated persecution of African
Americans by law enforcement. In
Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, police
attacked peaceful protesters with dogs and
high-pressure water hoses. Yeah.
 Background
Ghetto
• A neighborhood within a larger city or town,
cordoned off by race. The idea of a ghetto is
especially associated with persistent poverty
and social problems. The term was also used
to refer to Jewish relocation leading up to
the Holocaust; the comparison with African
Americans in America was a powerful one.
 Background
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• The civil rights movement was a struggle by
African Americans in the mid-1950s to late
1960s to achieve civil rights equal to those
of whites, including equal opportunity in
employment, housing, and education, as
well as the right to vote, the right of equal
access to public facilities, and the right to be
free of racial discrimination.
• The Birth of the Civil Rights Movement
• On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in
Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her
seat on a city bus to a white man. News of Parks's
arrest quickly spread through the African
American community. Parks had worked as a
secretary for the local branch of the national
association for the advancement of colored people.
Because she was a well-respected and dignified
figure in the community, her arrest was finally
enough to persuade African Americans that they
could no longer tolerate racially discriminatory
laws.
March on Washington for Jobs
and Freedom
 Background
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• Political demonstration held in Washington,
D.C. on August 28, 1963 by civil rights
leaders to protest racial discrimination and
to show support for major civil rights
legislation that was pending in Congress
THE SPEECH
 Guide Questions
• 1. Who was King referring to as “a great
American?”
• 2. According to King, the founders who signed the
Constitution wrote African Americans “a bad
check.” What does he mean?
• 3. What is King’s philosophy of protest?
• 4. What attitude does King urge African
Americans to take toward white people?
• 5. What is King’s big dream for America?
 Geog-rature Chart
1. island a. of poverty
2. ocean b. of racial justice
3. valley c. despair
4. sunlit path d. of prosperity
5. quick sands e. of racial injustice
6. rock f. justice
7. waters g. of brotherhood
8. a mighty stream h. of freedom and justice
9. an oasis i. righteousness
10. mountain j. of segregation and later, or
despair