Martin Luther King’s Dream Speech – 4 Things You Probably Didn’t Know

In the year 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke the words, “I have a dream this afternoon that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on the basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin."

The iconic speech turned out to be a pivotal point and one of the most memorable events in history. Here are some interesting things you probably didn’t know.

1. His line “I have a dream” almost wasn’t included in the speech

King was planning on using the “Dream” speech, though he’d already delivered it in Detroit. His adviser recommended that he refrain from doing so, leading his staff to craft a new speech for the occasion. While he was addressing the crowd in Washington, an audience member called out, asking him to tell them about his dream. King admitted to thinking it was a mistake to use the same speech, but history tells us otherwise.

2. The march was organized by an openly gay man with less than two months preparation

Bayard Rustin, considered one of the most crucial leaders in the civil rights movement, organized the march with only two months to spare. He is also believed to have played a pivotal role in educating King about the importance of nonviolence. While his sexual orientation was publicly known, Bayard preferred to stay in the background so as not to give those against the movement any ammo to further their agendas.

3. The march was attended by many stars from Hollywood

Harry Belafonte, a famous singer and actor, used his influence to encourage other celebrities to attend the Washington march. He also went out of his way to make the event star-studded by asking studio heads to allow actors and actresses to be released from their duties so they could attend. Other A-listers who went to the march included Sidney Poitier, Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando, Sammy Davis Jr., and Lena Horne.

4. MLK’s speech beat JFK’s 

Martin Luther King’s speech will forever go down in history as one of the most memorable moments of the Washington march. It has been forever immortalized, with children being taught and asked to memorize the speech in schools. In 1999, a panel composed of 130 scholars got together to rank the best speeches of the 20th century, and King’s speech took the #1 spot.