On August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered “I Have a Dream” from the Lincoln Memorial to more than 250,000 people. Calling for civil and economic rights and an end to legalized racism, he linked the struggle for Black freedom to the nation’s founding ideals, Abraham Lincoln, and the Emancipation Proclamation. Developed from themes he had used before and finalized in performance, the speech fused civic language, biblical rhythms, and repetition into a powerful appeal for equality. It became a defining moment of the civil rights movement and one of the most important speeches in American history.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Washington, District of Columbia · USA