Does the Grandeur of Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech Blind Us to His Core Message?
<p>Bynow lots of people know it was Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson who <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/132905796" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">shouted</a> “Tell them about your dream, Martin!” during the 1963 March on Washington.</p>
<p>If it wasn’t for her, one of the most famous speeches in American history might have a lot less famous. And possibly forgotten altogether.</p>
<p>Dr. King’s speech was supposed to turn on the theme of an unpaid <a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/08/27/214224111/clarence-b-jones-a-guiding-hand-behind-i-have-a-dream" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">promissory note</a> to America’s Black citizens, which he did, in fact, include in his remarks from the Lincoln Memorial that day.</p>
<p>The dream part wasn’t in Dr. King’s prepared text. But Mahalia Jackson and others had heard him speak of it.</p>
<p>He just needed to be reminded of something that was already deeply embedded in his soul. His dream for an America that lived up to the promises of its foundational documents.</p>
<h2>Those beautiful words —</h2>
<p>I have a dream — have become so famous in the 60 years since 1963 that most people identify Dr. King mainly by them.</p>
<p>Ask any school child who the man was, and they will tell you — he had a dream and was assassinated.</p>
<p>The trouble with repeating something for 60 years is that it loses some of its power to influence and inspire.</p>
<p>Not all of it. I certainly get choked up whenever I hear it. But it no longer has quite the same quality as when the words broke loose from the great man’s soul.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/illumination-curated/does-the-grandeur-of-dr-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-obscure-his-core-message-caaf74751919"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>