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Dr. King’s ‘Dream’ Speech: His Son Reflects on How Far We Have Come

On the 56th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, his son discusses the “best of what America represents.”

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The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech from the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963.Credit...Corbis/Bettmann

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Fifty-six years ago today, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood before hundreds of thousands of people in the nation’s capital to talk about his dream of peace and justice. His son Martin Luther King III has shared his reflections on the “I Have a Dream” speech to mark the anniversary. In an interview this morning, Mr. King remembers his father’s message and his legacy.

The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

I remember quite a few things because I was 10 years old when my father was killed. What I do not remember, unfortunately, is when he delivered this incredible message for our nation and world. I do remember having the opportunity to travel with Dad and see him in the context of his work. And, interestingly enough, he did several iterations of “I Have a Dream” before delivering the version he gave on Aug. 28 in 1963.

I had the opportunity with my brother to travel with my father probably seven or eight times. The last experience was in 1967, just a few months before he was killed. I believe it was October or November, and he was mobilizing for the Poor People’s Campaign, which was supposed to be an event to bring together poor blacks, poor whites, poor Native Americans, poor Latino and Hispanic Americans, Americans from all walks of life, to say to our policymakers in Washington that we demand the right to decent jobs and decent pay.

This vision that he engaged in and talked about, elements of it have become true. But the hope is that we’d be much further as a nation. I think we’re going through a metamorphosis. And what I mean by that is all of the ill, or all of the negative, has to come out for the positive to emerge because there’s no way that we can go back to the past.

We thought, for example, racism was resolved. We thought civil rights was resolved — certainly 10, 12 years ago. We did, especially when President Obama was elected. I didn’t feel that we were in a postracial society because I knew racism was still very much with us, but we certainly thought we’d come further. So to get to a point where it now feels like we’re going back to the 1950s is somewhat of concern.

But the only way you can address these issues, truly, is you have to know they exist. And so at least now we know they exist. So the real question is: How do we bring people together?

We still have quite a ways to go before the total eradication of these ills or evils that my dad talked about. I believe that it can happen.

And I think human beings are far more compassionate. I know we can do much better. Whether it is a tsunami, or whether it is a hurricane, whether it’s an earthquake — when we see these great fatal and natural acts, men and women of every ethnic persuasion come together and they just want to help.

Some of them have money, so they will send money. Some of them just have their own hands and legs. They come and they don’t ask you what color you are, and they don’t ask you what your sexual orientation is, they don’t ask. They’re just there to help. That’s the best of what America represents. We see it a lot in crises.

Now when we’re not in a crisis and what has precipitated is a man-made crisis, which is creating divisions, we see the worst of America. That’s what we’re seeing right now: the worst of who we are because these crises are not natural. They’re created by human beings, who have decided that we should separate.

I think the best of us comes when we are working together collectively. And it doesn’t mean that we can’t disagree. We’ve got to learn, as Dad taught us, to disagree without being disagreeable.

None of us have the luxury of giving up. It is overwhelming. And you do have to take a break sometimes. I mean if you stay engaged, and are constantly fighting, you don’t have time to regenerate. So sometimes you have to take time to renew your strength and energy, so that you can come back and fight again in a constructive way.

“Constructive” is the ideal word for me, not “destructive,” because darkness can’t put out darkness, only light can do that, as my father said. Violence cannot put out violence, but only nonviolence.

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Hundreds of thousands of people who gathered in Washington in 1963 heard Dr. King talk about his dream of peace and justice.Credit...Associated Press

I don’t think that it’s a single person as much as it’s a coalition of organizations. I really think that it has to be done by some millennials, some even maybe younger. I think we see it through the Parkland students; they are carrying that mantle. I think we see it through some of the progressive organizations.

But you’ve got to have progressive organizations who are willing to work with conservative organizations. So it’s not about what your leaning is. It’s about finding common ground even if there’s one issue. Let’s work on that.

We need what Dad called a revolution of values. Dad happened to be a Christian minister and he was able to use what his interpretation of Christianity was, but I think it’s so broad now that we’ve got to find a language that is universal. Now oftentimes he spoke in universal tones and that’s why I think people embraced him. He was able to speak in tones that everyone could understand. And that’s the kind of voices that we need to hear more today.

A correction was made on 
Aug. 28, 2019

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to the number of years that have passed since the “I Have a Dream” speech by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was 56 years ago, not 58. The error was repeated in a capsule summary.

How we handle corrections

Adeel Hassan is a reporter and editor on the National Desk. He is a founding member of Race/Related, and much of his work focuses on identity and discrimination. He started the Morning Briefing for NYT Now and was its inaugural writer. He also served as an editor on the International Desk.  More about Adeel Hassan

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