TIMELINES: What famous civil rights speech was delivered in Washington, DC Aug. 28, 1963?

Sunday, August 28, 2011

THEN

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his historic “I Have A Dream” speech before 250,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the famous March on Washington. The powerful and eloquent appeal to end segregation and racial discrimination against blacks in the United States is still one of the most recognized and inspiring speeches of all time—particularly the sentence, “I have a dream that my four little 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.” King’s speech is translated into many languages and is referenced by human rights activists world wide. A year following King’s speech, the Civil Rights Act becomes law in the United States, prohibiting racial discrimination in employment and education and making racial segregation in public facilities illegal. On April 4, 1968, at the age of 39, King is assassinated by James Earl Ray while standing on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.

NOW

Last week, Sunday, the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. officially opened to the public after decades of planning and nearly five years of construction. The 450-foot granite sculpture is intended to be a national monument of King’s humanitarian vision. Due to Hurricane Irene, the dedication ceremony for the memorial, initially planned for Sunday, the 48th anniversary of King’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech” has been postponed. U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to attend the dedication.