45 Years Later, the "I Have a Dream" Speech by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Meaning of It

Forty-five years ago a man stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and said a speech that many can not forget. That man was Martin Luther King Jr. and the speech that he gave became known as the "I have a dream" speech. There have been many people to give speeches in the past but nothing touched the United States like the one that Martin Luther King Jr. gave. "I have a dream" started many coffee house conversations as well as well as conversation in the political party. One particular person that remembers the "I have a dream" speech that was given by Martin Luther King Jr. is 105-year-old Della Jones who said that she though it was a wonderful speech, as reported by the MSNBC.

I wasn't born when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech but I will never forget the first time that I heard my teacher read it aloud in front of all of our class. As a student at Boswell Elementary School we had to learn the speech and the meaning behind it. When my teacher read it to us I couldn't help but think how could one man have a dream so huge and hope to bring a nation together like this. It wasn't long until I began to understand the speech and what it was about.

The "I have a dream" speech was about setting goals and accomplishing them no matter how long it takes. Martin Luther King Jr. set his mark on history as a civil rights activist but he was much more than that, he was part of what changed this nation and he is still remembered for everything that he stood for.

"I have a dream" wasn't just about the rights that the blacks had it was about everyone's rights and how we are all created equally and therefore should be treated equally.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech ended with him screaming "free at last, free at last" and I still get chills every time that I hear it. I am not black but I feel that Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech wasn't just geared towards the black American it was geared towards all of us.

It has been 45 years since the "I have a dream" speech and even today I see a nation that is not created equally but times are moving forward and we have accomplished a lot towards it.

I, too, have a dream similar to the one that Martin Luther King Jr. had, and I hope that someday my children will be able to walk with their friends without being ridiculed.