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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

“I Have a Dream Today…” 50 Years Ago In a Land of Struggle, Progress, and Struggle


“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb 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 to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." –

(Excerpt) By Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr… Given on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC-- August 28, 1963

One Love.

8 comments:

Val said...

One of the greatest speeches of all-time! Are you going to watch the President speak today?

Moanerplicity said...

@Val:

Agreed, Valentina. The man was quite the orator, poet AND arguably The Most Prophetic Voice of the 20th Century.

Yes. I will be watching our President speak.


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Roger Poladopoulos said...

A true masterpiece of oratory that inspired and mobilized a nation and still serves as a beacon today. It is applicable and relevant now as it was during the time it was delivered. Thank you for sharing this excerpt, my blogging brother and friend!

Moanerplicity said...

@ Roger:

A masterpiece, indeed. Mr. King's speech challenged America to live up to its own Constitutional ideal, its broken promises... as well its potential. It definitely still applies, even 50 YEARS later.


And you're welcome, my friend.


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Babz Rawls Ivy said...

These words remain ever relevant. I remain ever hopeful. The dream remains ever present in my soul.

Moanerplicity said...

@ Babz:

The Dream remains a righteous concept; a beautiful idea that has not entirely reached its fruition.

Yet, as another righteous-minded poet, Curtis Mayfield, once sang: 'I Plan To Stay a Believer.'


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A Free Spirit Butterfly said...

Still gives me chills when I hear him speak this...

If I could have dinner with two people, it would be Jesus and MLK.
(But not at the same time)

On another note: How sad that some people are free but enslaved in the mindset. We truly do not know the power we possess! Astounding!

with love
china

Moanerplicity said...

@ FSB:


I cosign on all counts.

Interesting choice of dinner companions as well. Were I seated at such a table, I'd speak very little, perhaps pose a few questions... but mostly sit in privileged silence soaking up wisdom, knowledge & Divinity.


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