How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph.Sentence)
Quote #1
This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. (2.2)
You can't really talk about America without talking about racism and slavery. For almost a hundred years after the American Revolution, slavery was the norm for half the country. The intense metaphorical imagery in this speech hammers home how much human suffering slavery caused. Burning is about the most intense metaphor for suffering out there.
Quote #2
This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (4.3)
Technically the Declaration of Independence does talk about "all men" being created equal. What that really meant at the time can be debated. First of all, the statement totally leaves out women (half the population). Second, the Constitutional Convention determined that slaves, the largest portion of "black" people in the country, only counted as three fifths of a person. (Source) "I Have a Dream" interprets those words in a way that makes sense for the 1960s. It's like historical analysis in front of 200,000 people.
Quote #3
We cannot walk alone. (8.6)
This punchy line reminds the audience that everyone needs to step in to bring about a change in race relations. African Americans and whites had to both be in the game—you can't run a relay with one person. There were thousands of white people at the March on Washington participating in the Civil Rights Movement. Other whites supported the movement in principle, but didn't do much to participate