An article celebrating Dr Martin Luther King's famous speech, "I HAVE A DREAM" by Madalyn Morgan

St Peter’s Review – Autumn 2013 Edition – Page 8

 www.stpeters-streatham.org
 

FIFTY YEARS AGO MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SAID

“I HAVE A DREAM”

by

Madalyn Morgan 

Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister, a social activist, and the leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America from the mid-1950s until his death in 1968.  For tens of millions of African Americans he was the leader of their crusade for racial equality.  His was the educated voice needed to end discrimination and humiliation, and bring black Americans human dignity. 

 

The first I knew of the Civil Rights Movement was when I was a schoolgirl living in a small rural town in England.  I used to listen to the protest songs of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.  So it is a great privilege to research and write about the icon of that movement, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and some of those who risked everything to fight for change and freedom. 

                       Martin Luther King’s dream was for racial equality

In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama.  Thousands of African American families, marching peacefully, were met with violence when police set dogs on them; turned fire hoses on the children, and kicked young black men to the ground.  By the end of the march, Martin Luther King and many of his supporters were in jail.  After Birmingham, Dr King and his supporters organised a bigger, but still peaceful, demonstration.  On August 28, 1963, the historic March on Washington drew more than 200,000 black and white people to the Lincoln Memorial.