Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech is one of the most well known speeches ever given. The purpose of this speech was to call together all people, of every color to end the mistreatment of blacks that had been occurring without stop for centuries in America. He describes his dream for racial equality for all those within the United States. Also, that he and the his movement would not stop until the Negro people were given complete and utter racial equality where they could attain the rights promised them by the Constitution (Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness). His speech was meant to push people to stand up to injustices such as this and push themselves towards achieving equality for themselves. King starts his speech by declaring that the first significant move toward racial equality began when the slaves were freed under the Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. However, there has no real improvement since then as a result of segregation and discrimination. He proclaims that those factors have caused negro people to be forced to live in poverty, exiled in their own land. King also mentions the foundation of America and the fundamentals of all men are created equal. His major point was that they should stand up for themselves as civilly, respectfully and be as sophisticated about the matter as possible. King believed that violence is never the answer to such a delicate situation as fighting for equality for blacks in America. In regard to his movement King urges that negroes keep their protests peaceful and to do so without bitterness or hatred of whites as their freedom depends on each other. With that statement King calls for an end to the negative attitudes of the white people in regard to the discrimination, lack of suffrage, and the physical violence displayed toward negroes. King's final part of his speech states that his dream is based within the American Dream, that whites and blacks will be able to coexist peacefully and that people will be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. This statement alone, makes Martin Luther King Jr's speech as well as him as person extremely well known for years to follow.
