The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, organized the 1963 March on Washington, advocated civil disobedience and nonviolent protest, and was one of the most influential figures in American history before he was killed at age 39. Take a look back at some of the Martin Luther King Jr.’s memorable speeches as the civil rights leader 50 years after his death.
1.) “I Have a Dream” – Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963
In his most famous speech, King addressed a crowd of more than 250,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and called for an end to racism in the United States.
“I say to you today, my friends, though, 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.”
2.) “Our God is Marching On” – Selma, Alabama, March 25, 1965
The speech King delivered after the historic peaceful marches from Selma to Montgomery is considered by historians to mark the end of the first phase of the civil rights movement that focused on civil and political rights. The movement later focused on economic equality.
“How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, you shall reap what you sow… How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
3.) “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence” – Riverside Church in New York City, April 4, 1967
As a majority of Americans still supported the Vietnam War, King condemned the war exactly one year before his assassination. King lost supporters for the too-political speech, considered one of his most controversial speeches.
“We are taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them 8,000 miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem.”
4.) “The Other America” – Stanford University, April 14, 1967
The day after King announced his opposition to the Vietnam War, he addressed a crowd of Stanford University students about equality in economics and society. He used the phrase “two Americas” in his speech to highlight the growing poverty gap in the United States as a cause of inequality. On March 14, 1968, King gave a similar speech at Michigan’s Grosse Pointe High School.
“One America is beautiful for situation… millions of young people grow up in the sunlight of opportunity. But tragically and unfortunately, there is another America. This other America has a daily ugliness about it that constantly transforms the ebulliency of hope into the fatigue of despair… They find themselves perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.”
5.) “I’ve been to the Mountaintop” – Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968
At King’s last speech, striking sanitation workers who were protesting their poor wages and conditions of work filled the church. No matter how painful the struggle may be, King emphasized the importance of nonviolent protest in the fight for justice.
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop… And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”
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