Questions
How many people marched in Washington, D.C.?
Who gave the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech?
Why does Martin Luther King, Jr’s speech continue to give people hope today?
‘I Have A Dream’
In August, 1963, 250,000 people marched in Washington, DC. It was the largest protest in the history of our nation’s capital. It was called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
This is President John F Kennedy. The protestors wanted President Kennedy to make changes.
They held up signs saying “End Segregation” and “Jobs for All.”
The protestors wanted equal rights for all Americans.
Many famous people gave speeches at the march. Doctor. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave one of the most important speeches in our nation’s history. The speech was called, ‘I Have a Dream’.
Doctor King said, “I have a dream, that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Doctor King was using the words of Thomas Jefferson, one of this country’s founding fathers. But Thomas Jefferson owned slaves!
Doctor King also said, “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.” Your character tells people what kind of person you are.
The March for Jobs and Freedom was a peaceful protest.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson was President of the United States. This picture shows him signing his name to the Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act ended segregation everywhere in the country. It also said that everyone must have an equal chance for a job. Your race or color or religion or sex did not matter.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream continues to give people hope today.