Martin Luther King Jr. Speeches

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most gifted orators of the 20^th Century. Harnessing Biblical verse and imagery and the cadences of the pulpit to his vision for social and economic change, he emerged in the 1950a and '60s as the most eloquent spokesman for social justice and non-violent resistance to oppression. Barack Obama, who was raised in a non-religious home, discovered the power of the African American religious community when he became an organizer after law school. It changed his life, and Obama's speeches reflect the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. both spiritually, intellectually and rhetorically.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and his continued influence helped Barack Obama find his identity as an African American, but truthfully, King belongs to all of us, regardless of color and nationality. The Rev. King is truly one of the giants of our time. For as long as the English language lives, Dr. King's speeches will be part of our the essential intellectual capital we all share

Here are excerpts from four of the major speeches of Martin Luther King's career, in chronological order:

"I Have a Dream" (delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C , August 28, 1963)

As the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the principal forces behind the "March on Washington" that pressured Congress for the passage of a civil rights bill. A quarter-of-a-million people congregated on the Mall in Washington, D.C. witnessed the speech. Standing before the Lincoln Memorial 100 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. King delivered what is perhaps his most famous speech:

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."