November 27, 1962
MLK SPEAKS ABOUT HIS DREAM IN ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA
Rocky Mount, North Carolina (JFK+50) The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed a crowd of 1800 at Booker T. Washington High School here in Rocky Mount today.*
The civil rights leader, who spoke in the school gymnasium, began by recalling that he while he had visited North Carolina "many, many times," this was his "first time in this section" of the state.
Dr. King closed with these words:
"I have a dream that one day right here in Rocky Mount, the sons of former slaves & the sons of former slave owners will meet at the table of brotherhood, knowing that one God brought man to the face of the earth."
He continued...
"I have a dream that one day my little daughter & my two sons will grow up in a world not conscious of the color of their skins, but only conscious of the fact that they are members of the human race."**
*Rocky Mount is located in the eastern coast plain area of North Carolina. It was named for a rocky mound at the falls of the Tar River which was also the site of one of NC's 1st cotton mills.
**According to "The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech That Inspired the Nation", 2003, Drew Hansen says that Dr. King 1st used the line "I have a dream" in his speech in Albany, Georgia on Nov. 16, 1962.
Dr. King, of course, made his "I have a dream" line most famous in his speech during the March on Washington, August 28, 1963.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Washington, D.C.
Photo by John White
September 25, 2011
SOURCES:
www.the60sat50.blogspot.com
www.ncmarkers.com
