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Videos: Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech

Posted by aubin on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 9:00 PM (EST)

For Americans, today is Martin Luther King Day, a celebration of the life and accomplishments of one of the most important figures in the past hundred years. In light of this, we're hoping you'll take the time to watch Dr.King's famous I Have a Dream speech.

Politics (93 comments)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. Seriously.

ThomasDelonge (January 21, 2008)

Amazing. I wish I knew how to write a speech like this guy. I don't have the best of luck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDpaP1lEu5k

-Sir Thomas Delonge

3+ Replies

mynameisbud (January 21, 2008)

'' these two guys walked up to me... one guy was missing both legs''
...what?

Matters (January 22, 2008)

This guy couldn't be more full of himself if he had the ability to wrap his cock around and stuff it in his own ass.

StuckInBielers (January 22, 2008)

The problem is its impossible to properly take the piss out of this guy cos he's become such a parody of himself. He genuinely believes he's some kind of fucking messiah, its not even funny anymore its just scary.

aorta (January 21, 2008)

First-class. His work regarding race relations notwithstanding, I think one of his most admirable qualities was he was unafraid to be INTELLIGENT. In this age of focus groups and mediocrity, our politicians are content to dumb themselves down to appeal to our lowest common denominator for their votes. This disgusting trend must stop.

eastsidemagsTHBS (January 21, 2008)

inb4racism

Rocktopus (January 21, 2008)

Awesome stuff. A truly great man.

On a side note. How about some props to Sir Edward Hillary. He died last week, just witnessed the funeral procession. He was another great man.

If you don't who he is, look him up.

2+ Replies

Rocktopus (January 21, 2008)

*Edmund

whoops.

Adlai_E_Stevenson (January 22, 2008)

From the Onion's Our Dumb World atlas entry on Nepal:

"British explorer Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest in 1953 with the aid of local Sherba Tenzing Norgay. Near the peak, Hillary sent Norgay ahead to clear a path, set the lines, achieve the summit, carve the footholds, and fix the flagpole for Hillary, who then ascended to become the first man in history to climb the world's highest mountain."

allison_le_gnome (January 21, 2008)

Sarah Vowell's column on MLK: Radical Love Gets a Holiday

That's what he essentially stood for and what we should seek to emulate.

2+ Replies

veganboyjosh (January 21, 2008)

i would totally marry sarah vowell.

allison_le_gnome (January 21, 2008)

She's totally awesome- even outside of her writing, she was in The Incredibles.

heyyon (January 21, 2008)

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

5+ Replies

returnofdebs (January 21, 2008)

why are you quoting strangers with candy?

Cox_Attack (January 22, 2008)

Win! All comments will now deal with Strangers With Candy!

"Where's your permission slip Mr.Noblet?"

"SHUT YOUR DIRTY LITTLE MOUTH"

Adlai_E_Stevenson (January 22, 2008)

"All right, I'll expect your poems about Hiroshima tomorrow, but please nothing too FAAAGGY." (writes 'faggy' on the board and underlines it twice)

AndBurnTheRest (January 21, 2008)

Langston Hughes?

AndBurnTheRest (January 21, 2008)

I was right...booyah.

Jesus_H_Christ (January 21, 2008)

One of my favorite poems.

T-Rock (January 21, 2008)

There should be a Malcolm X Day, too. Just sayin'.

This MLK video is always amazing. I'll follow it up with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkTnUxLjO2E
http://www.y outube.com/watch?v=TO6Co8v2XjY

Respect.

2+ Replies

theJUNGLEbrook (January 21, 2008)

i think people try to stay away from holidays in memory of violent biggots

T-Rock (January 21, 2008)

I agree. That's why I support removing Columbus Day and replacing it with Malcolm X Day.

Thanks for your endorsement.

Smithy (January 22, 2008)

Oh, snap!

returnofdebs (January 21, 2008)

just another victim of revisionist history. why don't the schools teach the truth about this man? tell kids he believed the only way everyone would have equal opportunity was through a total economic overhaul. he believed in a socialist democracy, but of course we wouldn't want kids growing up without them suckling the cock of capitalism. this isn't even one of his best speeches, but it certainly is one of the safest. he also orchestrated the rosa parks incident, but we are all supposed to believe she acted alone. why because people might realize what is possible through grassroots organizing? too bad he has been reduced to a mere footnote. also, eugene debs was alive in the last hundred years why no day for him?

5+ Replies

badbrain (January 21, 2008)

yeah maaaaaaaaaan

jacknife737 (January 21, 2008)

Careful, you may fall off your soapbox and hurt yourself.

Banal242 (January 21, 2008)

Your rant is as valid as it is coherent.

fallingupwards84 (January 21, 2008)

No Malcolm X in my history text, why is that?
Because he tried to educate and liberate all blacks.
Why is Martin Luther King in my book each week?
He told blacks if they get smacked to turn the other cheek.
-Tupac Shakur

victim (January 22, 2008)

Its not as simple as that. You have to remember the context. Vietnam was LBJs war and everyone knew it. LBJ was also the man who promised to usher in Civil Rights legislation.

So for Dr King to speak out against Vietnam was much more courageous and powerful a statement than it may seem in retrospect.

Thats not to say I agree with his methods.

bonesaw (January 21, 2008)

I think (and i doubt im breaking any new ground here) this message is so relevant today, even outside the fight against racism.

Meeting brute force with soul force.

nina_d (January 21, 2008)

http://i31.tinypic.com/20qyzxc.jpg :]

5+ Replies

mCLz (January 21, 2008)

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1526/ihaveadreamcastar2.jpg

fallingupwards84 (January 21, 2008)

hahaha

Dusticles (January 21, 2008)

http://content.ytmnd.com/content/9/2/9/929723b42aa9cb22a1321e087 da3cbca.jpg

StuckInBielers (January 22, 2008)

I did actually have a dreamcast and got the piss taken out of me mercilessly.

say_not_a_word (January 21, 2008)

oof, that's rough

jacknife737 (January 21, 2008)

Truly, a beautiful moment in history.

letthebeatdrop (January 21, 2008)

i just watched that entire speech and actually got a little teary eyed. its incredibly moving.

PersonalResponsibility (January 21, 2008)

We have a long way to go.

TheOneTrueBill (January 21, 2008)

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m10/hulksmaash/WAKE%20UP/drea msicle.jpg

Grantino (January 21, 2008)

such an amazing speech. our band played at a rally yesterday and it was just awesome to watch that speech and just listen to him talk. what an amazing man. cheers to MLK!

nocigar (January 21, 2008)

one of the greatest speeches EVER.

NYpunker (January 21, 2008)

Nobody mention how he was an alcoholic misogynist , who beat his wife. I have a dream that they will one day teach that in school. Smart man, but no fucking angel by any means.

8+ Replies

Banal242 (January 21, 2008)

This statement goes against the grain. You must be more intelligent than most everyone you meet.

Archangel (January 22, 2008)

Zing.

fallingupwards84 (January 21, 2008)

not sure of the accuracy of your statements - i have a feeling their slightly off, but even if they aren't, nobody has ever claimed that this man was perfect by any means. we all have flaws, King was certainly no exception

jacknife737 (January 21, 2008)

hmmm, this is your only post... flaimbait?

T-Rock (January 21, 2008)

It seems like everybody on the right wants to de-legitimize heroes of the left, and you're only helping them. We're all flawed. I remember once, when I was in Jr. High, my father said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." I was going through my rebellious phase, and I responded with, "You know a slave owner said that, right?" His wise response was, "Good advice from anybody is always good advice."

Basically, it doesn't matter what Dr. King did with his sex life or whatever. It's irrelevant. It's not his legacy. He wasn't fighting in favor of misogyny and alcoholism. He was fighting for racial justice. It's the same thing that happens with Malcolm X. The right wants to get him out of the picture, saying he was a racist and a violent man. Of course, for part of his life he was somewhat anti-white, but he changed (and quite frankly, I can understand why he might have

show rest of comment

damnitsderek (January 22, 2008)

I was going to use the Clinton example, but you beat me to it. Nicely put.

Autosuggestion (January 22, 2008)

That's a terrible example.

Say what you will about personal lives and being a rumored philanderer, at least unlike Clinton, MLK actually did some great things and fought for real change and equality.

Clinton, on the other hand, is a fucking douche who should hold his head in shame for the rest of his life while working tirelessly to try to atone for all of his bullshit. You can't support human rights and support Bill Clinton.

Autosuggestion (January 22, 2008)

Perhaps that was too heavy-handed, but the point I was trying to make was that when people say something like that about King, they are generally just trying to be provocative and contrary, but when they say it about Clinton it's part of a larger thing. That said, I certaonly wish people would lay off the bowlob jokes when talking about Clinton and focus on what a horrible bastard he was, whose legacy has benefitted remarkably by being followed by Bush.

CUAPUNKRADIO (January 22, 2008)

its not that clinton's sex life is irrelevant. its the fact that he perjured himself about it. he was (like many politicians) breaking the law they swear to uphold and untrustworthy

StuckInBielers (January 22, 2008)

Have you ever heard of a phrase from over here in the UK called 'cabinet sleaze'? Basically every other month it comes out that someone in the Labour party is cheating on their wife, or fast tracking visas or fucking the secretary. You can say it's irrelevant but by saying that you to some extent condone it, and when its happening time and time again it really undermines the political process. Voting figures are really low over here because people just don't respect politicians at all.

Overall tho i dig your point about the right sabotaging the left.

fallingupwards84 (January 21, 2008)

great speech, unfortunately its been used by many neo-conservatives since then for wrong causes. men such as Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond who hated MLK while he was alive and fought against integration, suddenly used his speech about "judging men not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" to speak out against affirmative action.

also, the best thing this nation can do to honor Dr. King is to finally have a national discussion about the most racist government policy since Jim Crow, and that is the War on Drugs, which targets blacks:
a) blacks make up 14% of those who use drugs, yet 36% of those arrested are blacks and 63% of those who end up in prison are blacks.
b) the punishment for crack cocaine is many times higher than the punishment for powdered cocaine. it is a five-year minimum sentence for possessing 500g of powdered coc

show rest of comment

3+ Replies

theJUNGLEbrook (January 21, 2008)

tell black people to stop doing drugs, and i bet people will stop accusing them of it

fallingupwards84 (January 22, 2008)

if you read my post, you'd see that whites use drugs much more than blacks

canaandrumzz (January 22, 2008)

I tend to agree with you but with regards to the second statement I would guess because violent crime is more associated with crack cocaine than powdered and so they make the punishment heavier.

telegraphrocks (January 21, 2008)

Yeah, yeah, wonderful guy, HEY LOOK AT THIS HWM REUNION SHOW SET:

CAUTION
wayfarer
remedy
trusty chords
i was on a mountain
the sense

AFAAC
a flight and a crash
paper thin
jack of all trades
swinger
instrumental

THE NEW WHAT NEXT
the end of the line
all heads down
giver
kill the night (till the wheels fall off)

FOREVER AND COUNTING
better sense
manual

NO DIVISION
no division (encore)
free radio gainsville
it's hard to know
at the end of a gun
rooftops

FUEL FOR THE HATE GAME
220 years (encore, last song)
turnstile

MOONPIES FOR MISFITS EP
moonpies for misfits

ALK3/HWM SPLIT
god deciding (encore)

NEVER ENDER
alachua (encore)

2+ Replies

el_matt (January 21, 2008)

Fuck, they played "It's Hard to Know". I love that song!

Angiepants (January 22, 2008)

HOLY MOTHERFUCKING GOD, MOONPIES FOR MISFITS.

If we get that in Chicago I'll die happy.

el_matt (January 21, 2008)

I liked his speeches from before he singed on to a major label. He totally sold out!

3+ Replies

telegraphrocks (January 21, 2008)

HAHA!

Totally true... his earliest work was the best.

fallingupwards84 (January 21, 2008)

i have his first 7" from back in '54 right before the Montgomery Bus Boycotts full length

telegraphrocks (January 22, 2008)

Black with white-splatter? Lucky dick!

sweetsugarpezz (January 22, 2008)

Comment of the day nomination.

Holy_Balls (January 22, 2008)

When he went electric, I lost all interest.

fallingupwards84 (January 21, 2008)

what does everyone think about Malcolm X? he was often at odds with King, and much of the black community was split between the two...

5+ Replies

say_not_a_word (January 21, 2008)

i love that denzel.

Jesus_H_Christ (January 21, 2008)

Malcolm X was a bitter racist at first but I like him a lot more then King. I prefer Mr. X in the last couple of years of his tragically short life.

SumWon (January 21, 2008)

I read his autobiography. It was very good. His process of growing from a typical clubbin fool to revolutionary was, although probably a bit dramatized, astounding.

LookBackAndLaugh (January 22, 2008)

I prefer King, but that's also because I'm a pacifist.

StuckInBielers (January 22, 2008)

Not to sound flippant but is it a bit like preferring Propagandhi or Fat Mike? They both have essentially the same aim but think they can achieve it differently? I know a fair bit about MLK but not a lot about Malcolm X cos he gets less coverage in the UK curriculum.

skaboom (January 21, 2008)

I respect the hell out of MLK Jr. Racial politics still play an enormous part in today's society, but nobody can even come close to him in terms of clarity of thought and ability to unify all people under one banner. Jackson and Sharpton, please take note.

2+ Replies

fallingupwards84 (January 21, 2008)

Sharpton's not as bad as some make him out to be... the media effectively demonized him and makes him look "crazy"... but if you actually take the time to listen to him and his ideas, he makes a lot of sense, and he's a powerful speaker. like i said, the media has given him so much bad press that its ruined his image

skaboom (January 21, 2008)

I don't mean for this to be a debate about Al Sharpton, but I strongly disagree. The guy will automatically defend any black person anywhere, regardless of circumstance.

Take the "Jena 6" fiasco for example. He is an expert at maniupulating media. He made a group of boys who, without legit provocation, mercilessly beat an unarmed white boy to the point he needed hospitalization, INTO VICTIMS! I'll admit that the case was handled poorly, but he managed to make a guy (Mychal Bell, who has several previous felony convictions) into a martyr. The guy uses race as an excuse for everything. Anytime any white person and black person get into any dispute, he automatically aligns with the black person, regardless of facts, reality, and/or common sense.

That is not what MLK stood for at all. MLK was about opportunity. All he asked for was for people to accept him as he

show rest of comment

allison_le_gnome (January 22, 2008)

Not to rehash this previously extensive argument, but you are TOTALLY wrong about the Jena 6. Just for the record. I'll stop now.

Autosuggestion (January 22, 2008)

I don't know if I would say "TOTALLY."

The issue of inconsistent sentencing is huge issue, but it is also independent from some of the things he was saying.

allison_le_gnome (January 22, 2008)

Based on the previous argument, he was totally wrong. I'll admit I didn't thoroughly read this particular statement.

KlashedKi (January 21, 2008)

3rd Malcom X post.

Seriously, celebrating MLK's bday is not representing Civil Rights as a whole.

Craig-TheRebelCounty (January 21, 2008)

SWINGIN' UTTERS
"Bigot's Barrel"

He was spoken to just to be put down
He was 22 when helped off the ground
Beaten black and blue when his color was
brown and shining shoes in a dirty town

(Chorus)
The bigots barely outnumber my regrets
as I float around like shit in the Bay
The bigot's barrel just another white melee
(It's just another fucking windy day)

He's free to choose but his choices are few
The rope is loose but it's tied in a noose
He prays to God in the back of the church pews
They won't pass the plate to the blacks or the Jews

(Chorus)

She's feeling free until "he" gets a free feel
A reeling plea in machismo battlefield
"I'm up to my neck in the newest of raw deals
while I'm choking on the B.C. pill"

(Chorus)

show rest of comment

Autosuggestion (January 21, 2008)

I think that King's best speeches weren't until his last 14 months or so.

Like when he finally came out against the Vietnam War at Riverside Church or right before he was killed when he was planning the Poor People's March and talking about class while supporting the sanitation workers strike in Memphis.

1+ Reply

victim (January 22, 2008)

Damn straight

Citizen_Crack (January 21, 2008)

Dr. King said freedom at last and some interpreted that
To mean we’ve come to the end of the path
But instead the long march hasn’t even begun, y'all
Political power, manifest once the guns drawn
Right like shit will pop off with one song

- Blue Scholars

eran_zombis (January 21, 2008)

I had class today.

DrSudholt (January 21, 2008)

Hitler was a decent painter. There. We just said the same thing.

1+ Reply

theJUNGLEbrook (January 22, 2008)

hahah.

well done.

GlassPipeMurder (January 21, 2008)

great vid.

rob_rob (January 22, 2008)

White guilt

1+ Reply

LookBackAndLaugh (January 22, 2008)

Well, he is probably one of the more important figures of the 20th century. So... yeah. I don't think you can boil it down to just that.

dontwantaname (January 22, 2008)

a couple years ago i got into a wreck on mlk blvd on mlk day. i'll always remember that day. pouring rain and a crashed car. fun times.

1+ Reply

StuckInBielers (January 22, 2008)

God wants you to become a racist

thomas7155 (January 22, 2008)

Amazing speech. I don't think I've seen it in its entireity before.

AlexBLP (January 22, 2008)

Malcolm X 'ftw'

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