Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is a treasured cornerstone of the civil rights movement. What's not widely known, though, is that these famous words were largely improvised.
On August 28, 1963, the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place. Its goal was to push for civil rights and economic rights for Black Americans and to call for an end to racism. The event featured a wide variety of speakers and musical performances. Dr. King was set to deliver the closing speech. Historians say that organizing the protest march took so much of his time that Dr. King never had a chance to nail down exactly what he was going to say.
Clarence Jones was Dr. King's lawyer and speechwriter. He wrote about his work and friendship with Dr. King. According to Jones, Dr. King sat down with his team to draft the speech 12 hours before the march. Team members had different ideas about what he should say. Some advised Dr. King to mention specific groups like labor unions. Others said he should make a political argument about jobs and housing. Still others recommended featuring religious quotations in his speech.
Jones kept track of the ideas. He took notes and wrote a first draft. Everyone in the room agreed the draft required some revisions before it would be suitable. But by that time, it had gotten late. The meeting ended so the team could get some sleep.
The morning of the march, Dr. King had a handwritten final copy of the speech. It was basically what Jones had written the night before. Notably, it didn't include the line "I have a dream."
In a few short hours, Dr. King stood front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. There, he delivered the speech to a crowd of about 250,000 people. At first, he read what was on the paper. That included a passage about the Constitution and a comparison of America's commitment to civil rights to a check that couldn't be cashed. Dr. King's speech was scheduled to be about four minutes long. Then, something happened that caused him to speak for 16 minutes and deliver one of the most famous speeches in human history.
Standing close to the stage was Dr. King's friend, famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. According to Jones, Jackson, with her powerful voice, yelled out, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" Historians don't know whether Dr. King heard Jackson or not. But at that moment, he paused and put aside his notes. He said, "Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream."
And from that point on, Jones said, Dr. King ad-libbed.
Jones said Dr. King had an extraordinary knack for speaking about ideas he had read about or things he'd said before. For the improvised parts, Dr. King drew on sources like the song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and the old spiritual "Free at Last." The "I have a dream" phrase didn't come out of nowhere, either. Dr. King had used the refrain before in a speech he'd made a couple of months earlier in Detroit. It didn't have a big effect then. This time, it did.
Dr. King's delivery at the March on Washington stood apart from his previous speeches. The audience was filled with people who'd traveled cross-country to join together to protest in the oppressive summer heat. They may have been exhausted, but Dr. King's four simple words were filled with a power that ignited their energy, emotions, and imaginations. On that hot, historic day, "I have a dream" took on a special meaning as an expression of Dr. King's commitment to freedom, nonviolence, and social justice. It is an expression that still inspires hope more than 50 years later.
Which of these would not be important to include in a summary of this Article?
Clarence Jones wrote a speech but did not include the words "I have a dream."
The team that helped Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. draft his speech ended their meeting so they could get some sleep.
People pushed for civil and economic rights for Black Americans at the March on Washington.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. improvised most of his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington.
According to the Article, which of these happened third?
Dr. King's team advised him to make a political argument about jobs and housing.
Dr. King improvised with the song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and the old spiritual "Free at Last."
Clarence Jones wrote a speech comparing America's commitment to civil rights to a check that couldn't be cashed.
Mahalia Jackson yelled, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!"
Dr. King improvised with the song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and the old spiritual "Free at Last."
wrong
I apologize for the error. The correct answer is: Clarence Jones wrote a speech comparing America's commitment to civil rights to a check that couldn't be cashed.
Suppose Kasumi wants to find out about Mahalia Jackson. She would find most of her information __________.
in a newspaper from Washington, D.C., in 1963
in a book about famous gospel singers
in a schedule from the March on Washington
in a book about famous speeches