Dr.+Martin+Luther+King,+Jr.

=The "I Have a Dream" Speech=

As you know, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the principal leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Through writing and nonviolent protests, he fought segregation and racial discrimination and helped to convince many white Americans to support the cause of civil rights in the United States. Learn a little more about his life from Pitara magazine

View a time-line of the American Civil Rights Movement from PBS

Then think about the idea of **segregation**. What does that word mean? Why would people want to support segregation or believe in segregation? What would segregation look like today, if it were still followed?

After watching the documentary //The Long Walk to Freedom//, write a short paragraph describing what you took away from it.

Next watch a brief video clip giving some background on segregation and the American Civil Rights Movement in 1963 in Alabama, which inspired a bigger national movement.

Read about the imperative role that young people played in the Birmingham, Alabama protests through the Children's Crusade, Watch a short video clip about the Children's Crusade. (login: feppelsheimer / password: usm)

As mentioned in his brief biography above, Dr. King gained prominence as an activist by helping organize the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and the Birmingham protests and boycotts. He then helped bring the idea of segregation and equal rights to the national stage by helping to organize an enormous protest called The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It is here that he gave his most famous speech about equal rights for African Americans. It was August of 1963, and the speech was entitled "I Have a Dream".

See documents from the March on Washington

What was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom?

View a video news clip about the March on Washington media type="youtube" key="d7s30wFCqlw" height="315" width="420"

Listen to the "I Have a Dream" speech

View the text of the speech

Analyze the small portion of the speech that has been assigned to you.

Clayborne Carson, a professor of history at Stanford University and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, talks about his research on MLK.
 * Other resources on MLK:**

Time magazine's article on what American women earn compared to men
 * Gender equality?:**


 * History of Voting Rights in the U.S.**

Nikki Giovanni is an award-winning poet and professor who began writing about the Civil Rights Movement when Dr. Martin Luther King was still alive. She wrote a famous poem in response to his death entitled,"The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.". We will analyze this poem together in class at a later date.
 * Extension Activities:**

Finally, try to create a diamante poem in response to Dr. King's words. Use phrases from the speech as your starting point.