# Canonical recap data for Martin Luther King Jr. 'I Have a Dream' Speech (1963)
# Source: https://recap.at/1963/i-have-dream-speech
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: i-have-dream-speech
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1963/i-have-dream-speech"
title: Martin Luther King Jr. 'I Have a Dream' Speech
aliases:
- I Have a Dream
- March on Washington
- March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
- Lincoln Memorial speech
subtitle: Delivered at the 1963 March on Washington, King's speech became the definitive articulation of the Civil Rights Movement's moral vision and galvanized legislative action.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1963-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1963
decade: 1960
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against J
summaryLong: Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights activist and Baptist minister who was a prominent leader of the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legalized discrimination, which most commonly affected African Americans.
lede: On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech to over 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech, built around King's vision of racial equality and delivered in cadences that would define the civil rights movement, became one of the most recognized statements of the 20th century and helped shift political momentum toward passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr..jpg/1280px-Martin_Luther_King%2C_Jr..jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Martin Luther King Jr."
importance: 85
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Attendance
  value: 250,000+ people
- label: Location
  value: Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
- label: Date
  value: August 28, 1963
- label: Speech duration
  value: 17 minutes
- label: Broadcast reach
  value: Live television and radio across U.S. networks
- label: Related legislation
  value: Civil Rights Act passed July 2, 1964
- label: Organizing groups
  value: 10 civil rights organizations including NAACP, SNCC, CORE
timeline:
- date: 1963-06-01
  title: March planning accelerates
  description: Civil rights leaders including A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin finalize plans for a mass demonstration in Washington to pressure Congress on pending civil rights legislation.
- date: 1963-08-28
  title: March on Washington convenes
  description: Over 250,000 people gather at the Lincoln Memorial. King delivers 'I Have a Dream' speech in the afternoon, becoming the day's centerpiece.
- date: 1963-08-29
  title: Speech distributed nationally
  description: Full text and recordings of King's speech circulate through newspapers, radio, and television networks, extending reach far beyond attendees.
- date: 1963-11-22
  title: President Kennedy assassinated
  description: JFK's death shifts political landscape; successor Lyndon B. Johnson becomes champion of civil rights bill stalled in Congress.
- date: 1964-07-02
  title: Civil Rights Act signed
  description: President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin—landmark legislation enabled in part by sustained pressure from the March.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr."
  title: Martin Luther King Jr.
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: King's August 28 address crystallized the moral case for desegregation at a moment when federal legislation hung in the balance. The speech's reach—amplified by live television and radio—moved the question of civil rights from the streets into American living rooms, making it politically harder for Congress to ignore.
categories:
- protest
- festival
taxonomy:
domain: social_movement
eventTypes:
- protest
- activist_campaign
- civil_disobedience
canonicalClasses:
- mobilization
- transformation
- conflict
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: growth
metaDescription: MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech at the 1963 March on Washington transformed the civil rights movement.
wikidataQid: Q8027
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260608091518/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr."
  capturedAt: 2026-06-08
  label: Martin Luther King Jr.
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr."
