"I Have A Dream"
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1963
Born 1929 -- Died 1968

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

"... I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations
of the moment, 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."
I have a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and
the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping
with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little
black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls
and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, 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 with which I return to the South. 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 stand 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 a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers 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 prodigious 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 snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village 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 Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

President Clinton spoke at a reception for African-American community leaders in the East Room of the White House on Friday, January 12th, 2001. President Clinton signed legislation authorizing a marker to be placed at the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered the speech in 1963. "Few leaders in American history have spoken with the eloquence, passion and moral force that Dr. King did that day," President Clinton said in a statement. King's words, he said, "still inspire millions of people around the world who believe in the extraordinary power of non-violent change to bring about social justice." Clinton called on those who visit the Lincoln Memorial to "pause to reflect upon Dr. King's words, and strive to make that dream real in their hearts and daily lives."

First step on national scene King broke onto the national civil rights scene in 1955 as the organizer of the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. During the 13-month boycott blacks avoided the buses, walking instead or deciding to carpool. Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that Alabama's laws on racial segregation were illegal. King's finest moment may have come at an inter-racial assembly of more than 250,000 poeple, white and black, at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, when he called out, "Let freedom ring." Just one year after this landmark speech, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On the last trip of his life, King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, to support the city's striking garbage workers, who were demanding a raise and better working conditions.

King died in a Memphis hospital on April 4, 1968, after being shot at the Lorraine Motel by a sniper.

A great source of information can be found at .
Such as "MLK Timeline", "In His Voice", "Photo Gallery", "Civil Rights Timeline", "The Legacy Roadways Across America" & "The Holiday".
The whole speech can be found Here.