4.1 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech

According to Dr. King, one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Black Americans are still “crippled by the manacles of ____________ and the chains of discrimination.”

• segregation

• freedom

• prosperity

• unity

Dr. King compares America’s unfulfilled promises to Black citizens to a “bad check, a check which has come back marked ____________ funds.”

• insufficient

• excessive

• guaranteed

• secured

Fill in the blank with the correct words. He urges his followers not to “satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of ____________ and hatred.”

• bitterness

• joy

• hope

• peace

Fill in the blank with the correct words. 5. Dr. King famously dreams that his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their ____________ but by the content of their character.”

• skin

• hair

• eyes

• clothes

What does Dr. King say America has given Black citizens instead of their “promissory note”?

• A new law

• A seat at the table

• A bad check

• A medal

According to Dr. King, what must not be allowed to “degenerate into physical violence”?

• protest

• discussion

• celebration

• negotiation

Dr. King urges the nation to move from the “valley of segregation” to which of the following?

• The peak of prosperity

• The sunlit path of racial justice

• The mountain of hope

• The river of equality

Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Dr. King as a place where freedom should ring?

• Stone Mountain of Georgia

• Mount Rushmore

• Lookout Mountain of Tennessee

• The Rocky Mountains of Colorado

Dr. King emphasizes nonviolence and the need to avoid bitterness and hatred in the struggle for civil rights because:

• he believes it is the most effective way to achieve justice and lasting peace.

• he wants to delay the progress of the movement.

• he thinks violence will bring faster results.

• he believes hatred will unite people.

The significance of Dr. King’s repeated phrase “I have a dream” in the context of the speech and the Civil Rights Movement is:

• It emphasized his vision for racial equality and inspired hope for change.

• It was a reference to a famous poem from the 1800s.

• It was meant to criticize government policies directly.

• It was used to discuss economic issues only.