“I Have A Dream” – 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic "I Have A Dream" address during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The March was organized by a number of civil rights and religious groups who wanted to bring attention to the political and social
challenges African Americans continued to face across the country and to advocate for the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

The March on Washington was one of the largest rallys for civil rights ever held in the United States, with around 250,000 people in attendance, and Dr. King's speech is generally considered to be one of the most historic and inspiring speeches ever given.

Behind The Dream: The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation by Clarence B. Jones tells the story of the last few weeks leading up to the March of Washington and the creation of the famous, inspiring speech. Clarence Jones was King's lawyer, advisor, speechwriter and friend and not only helped craft the speech, but also was standing just a few feet away from Dr. King as he spoke that day on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.

I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. contains the text of the speech and is accompanied by illustrations by Coretta Scott King Award or Honor winning artists. Each artist depicts a portion of the story of the civil rights movement
or his or her vision of the meaning of a section of the speech. The Full Text of the speech is also available online from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.