Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

Introduction

• Historical significance: Greatest demonstration for freedom in the nation's history
• Reference to the Emancipation Proclamation
  • Signed by a great American (Lincoln)
  • A beacon of hope for millions of Negro slaves
  • Symbolic end to intense injustice

State of Freedom 100 Years Later

• African Americans still not free
• Continued oppression
  • Segregation and discrimination
  • Poverty