Five score years ago， a great American， in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation P This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of But one hundred years later， we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not One hundred years later， the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of One hundred years later， the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material One hundred years later， the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence， they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life， liberty， and the pursuit of It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are Instead of honoring this sacred obligation， America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient " But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the N This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and Nineteen sixty-three is not an end， but a Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people， for many of our white brothers， as evidenced by their presence here today， have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our We cannot walk And as we walk， we must make the pledge that we shall march We cannot turn There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights， "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies， heavy with the fatigue of travel， cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to No， no， we are not satisfied， and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and Some of you have come fresh from narrow Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police You have been the veterans of creative Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is Go back to Mississippi， go back to Alabama， go back to Georgia， go back to Louisiana， go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities， knowing that somehow this situation can and will be Let us not wallow in the valley of I say to you today， my friends， that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment， I still have a It is a dream deeply rooted in the American I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created " I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi， a desert state， sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression， will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and I have a dream that my four 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 I have a dream I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama， whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification， will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and I have a dream I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted， every hill and mountain shall be made low， the rough places will be made plain， and the crooked places will be made straight， and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed， and all flesh shall see it This is our This is the faith with which I return to the S With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of With this faith we will be able to work together， to pray together， to struggle together， to go to jail together， to stand up for freedom together， knowing that we will be free one This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning， "My country， 'tis of thee， sweet land of liberty， of thee I Land where my fathers died， land of the pilgrim's pride， from every mountainside， let freedom " And if America is to be a great nation， this must become So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New H Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New Y Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of M From every mountainside， let freedom When we let freedom ring， when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet， from every state and every city， we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children， black men and white men， Jews and Gentiles， Protestants and Catholics， will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual， "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty， we are free at last!"
