ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

I Have a Dream 3052 Views


Share It!


Description:

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech has stood the test of time, and we think it always will.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

I Have a Dream, a la Shmoop. We may not have the whole thing committed

00:10

to memory…

00:10

…but we all know at least bits and pieces of Martin Luther King Jr.’s immortal speech.

00:16

Here are a couple familiar-sounding nuggets:

00:19

“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not

00:28

be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…”

00:33

“Let freedom ring…”

00:36

“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

00:42

“Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?

00:46

Okay, to be fair, that last one was Seuss. But still.

00:50

It’s been a long time since King delivered that speech…

00:53

…and the world has changed quite a lot.

00:56

But… are blacks “free at last,” as he hoped?

01:01

Is his dream now a reality? Or are we still in the process of waking up?

01:10

One big point in the “reality” column is that we have now elected a black president.

01:15

Not only that… but we’ve re-elected a black president.

01:19

So seemingly we didn’t just vote Obama into office as a social experiment.

01:25

The fact that a majority of the country… however slim… is willing to have a black

01:29

man lead our country…

01:30

…seems to indicate that the ugly veil of racism has been lifted… at least somewhat.

01:36

But does that mean there aren’t others who are still hanging onto a racist agenda?

01:40

Will King’s dream not become reality until our nation is 100 percent bigot-free?

01:47

Most people are pretty good about not hating… redheads, for example.

01:52

But we’re sure there is a small segment of crazy out there who are forming “I Hate

01:56

Ginger” clubs as we speak. Does that mean that our nation isn’t truly

02:00

free as long as there is even the tiniest bit of irrational hate bubbling below the

02:05

surface? Or… are we not nearly as close as we think

02:09

we are?

02:10

True, black Americans have numerous opportunities that they did not have 50 years ago…

02:16

…and they can hold many positions of authority that were previously off-limits…

02:19

…but hate crimes still abound. There are still daily reports of racism-fueled

02:25

acts of violence…

02:26

…and even non-minorities who claim that they “don’t see color” may still harbor

02:32

some degree of subconscious prejudice. So… are “little black boys and black girls

02:38

free to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters

02:43

and brothers”…

02:43

…as King hoped? Does our election of a black president prove

02:48

that we’ve cleared the divide?

02:50

Are a small percentage of haters ruining it for the rest of us?

02:53

Or is the world King dreamed of… still something of a nightmare?

02:57

Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Up Next

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123036 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

Related Videos

The Giver Summary
105891 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1255 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...

Quotes: A fool's paradise
293 Views

Find out the meaning behind "a fool's paradise."