On an August day in 1963, under the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial gospel singer Mahalia Jackson told Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to “Tell them about the dream Martin. Tell them about the dream.”
Mahalia Jackson Sings At The March On Washington
Mahalia Jackson was a close friend of Dr. King and an important voice for the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King had spoken to Mahalia about his dream that all Americans would someday be judged by their character and not the color of their skin. On August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Mahalia sang the spiritual, “I Been ‘Buked and I Been Scorned,” a favorite of Dr. King. When she had finished, Dr. King spoke.
Dr. King Speaking Before A Crowd
Dr. King read from the speech he had prepared with the help of speech writer Clarence B. Jones. At about eleven minutes into his speech, Mahalia asked him to tell the people about his dream for America, the one she remembered hearing. Dr. King stopped reading, paused for awhile, and then spoke the words we know as his “I Have A Dream” speech — one of the most powerful and influential speeches in American history.
