"I Have a Dream" Key Facts from PBS NewsHour

"I Have a Dream" Key Facts

from PBS NewsHour

Multiple Choice

King was supposed to speak for four minutes, but he spoke for over 16.

• True

• False

He spoke for 16 minutes.

This didn’t cause a problem, however, because the program was running ahead of schedule and people were more than willing to stick around to hear Dr. King.

Multiple Choice

This was the first time King had ever made an “I Have a Dream” speech.

• True

• False

He had written about the idea previously and talked about it in other speeches.

King had used the phrase “I have a dream” in other speeches in many cities. However, this was the first time that most Americans had heard him use the phrase and the most famous part of the speech was actually impromptu.

Multiple Choice

King had not planned on giving the speech that day; it was impromptu.

• True

• False

"Tell them"

During his speech Mahalia Jackson called out, “Tell them about the dream Martin!” and King began to speak, and some say preach, about his famous dream for equality. He left out lines like “And so let us go back to our communities as members of the international association for the advancement of creative dissatisfaction…” and instead thundered, “Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.”

Multiple Choice

King was honored at the march by letting him go last to give the keynote address to the marchers.

• True

• False

No one wanted the slot.

The truth is that no one wanted to go last. The speakers believed that the television news journalists would be gone by the end of the event. King volunteered to go last, and everyone stuck around to hear him deliver what would become one of the most important speeches in the history of the United States. 

Multiple Choice

King’s speech was immediately recognized as a defining moment in civil rights history.

• True

• False

King’s speech was praised by many in the days following the march, but it was only later that it became a defining moment in civil rights history.

Multiple Choice

The actual name of the March was “The March on Washington for Freedom.”

• True

• False

The actual name of the march was “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” The demands of the marchers included legal justice as well as economic equality for all.

Equal Opportunity was a focus of KIng's movement.

Multiple Choice

Two-thousand marshals were planted in the crowd by the U.S. government to keep the peace.

• True

• False

They were planted by the organizers.

The 2,000 marshals that were scattered through the crowd were trained and provided by the organizers of the march themselves. Many in the government were afraid that the demonstration would turn into violent riots, however the march remained peaceful and was a resounding success. 

Multiple Choice

A year later, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

• True

• False

It was only 57 years ago that these laws were passed. This legislation finally made racial discrimination illegal.

The Civil Rights act made segregation in public places illegal, required employers to provide equal employment opportunities, and protected the right to vote of every American, regardless of the color of their skin.