MARTIN LUTHER KING SPEECH SUMMARY

In August of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most important speech at the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington D.C. It is a very powerful message about racism in the United States and a
defining moment in the history of the civil rights movement.
Martin Luther King begins his speech by declaring that this occasion will be well
remembered in US history. He then evokes Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address by saying “Five score years
ago, a great American (...)”. He smoothly moves from talking about the past to discussing the present
situation. King proves that even though the abolition of slavery took place a hundred years ago, black
people in America are still not free. They’re constantly being discriminated against.
King also refers to the Declaration of Independence, which he sees as a “promissory
note” that has not been fulfilled for African Americans. The bank of justice still has money and for
him, there’s a debt to be paid to black people in the US. King says the time for making justice has
come and that it is all urgent. He emphasizes the urgency by repeating the phrase: “now is the time”.
He doesn’t think, however, that the African American protesters should use violence or blame all
white people for the current situation. He also says that there can be no peace in America until equality
comes true. King claims that in order to gain the freedom they have to prove that they are better and
show dignity. It is a fight for everyone and to win this fight they need to unite, as black people but also
with white people.
King also points out that they will never be satisfied until black people stop being the
victims of police brutality. They won’t be satisfied if they have to move from a small ghetto to a
bigger one. They don’t want their children to be segregated anymore. Black people are tired of being
the “worse race”, of being persecuted all the time. They want to be equal. They wish to not only have
a right to vote but also a reason to vote for.
The consolation is that people need to know that their situation will be better. Martin
Luther King believes the situation needs to change and that it will happen. He says they should all bear
in mind there’s some reason for suffering in a similar sense to the one in the Bible. Right after that, he
moves on to deliver the most iconic part of his speech. He talks about the dream that was to end the
segregation, to bring justice and freedom for black people. He then mentions different states and cases
of racism there. He enumerates almost all the places in the US to show that they belong to all the
Americans, even the “Negroes”. The whole country needs to unite in order to fight this battle. Martin
Luther King’s biggest dream is to end racism. Lastly, he says that there needs to be the brotherhood of
all people, of any skin colour. He wants all the suffering to stop.
Martin Luther King’s speech is considered as a masterpiece of rhetoric. It invokes
crucial documents in US history, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, as well as
the Emancipation Declaration. King also refers to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the abolition of
slavery. He uses multiple anaphoras throughout the speech, e.g. “I have a dream” that is used to paint a
picture of King’s dream America. He also repeats “Now is the time” to urge the audience to seize the
moment. The anaphoras are also as follows: “One hundred years later”, “Free at last”, “With this
faith”, “Let freedom ring” and last but not least: “We can never be satisfied”. To me, it surely is one
of the most iconic speeches in history, that proved to black Americans that they can unite and
peacefully fight for their rights.