15.3 – Think and Apply Activity 1
“I Have a Dream” Speech Analysis Activity
1) What do you already know about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most well-known leaders of the U.S. civil rights movement?
You will read part of a very famous speech given by him in Washington, D.C. in August 1964. First, watch this video as a class as an introduction.
2) Look at the “I Have a Dream” Speech Analysis Activity; one student in class can read out the “background” information box. As a whole class, you will read two parts from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech while thinking about the message of those sections. Go over the instructions together regarding the original and simplified language.
Note: Dr. King is using the term “Negro” instead of “Black person” because it was commonly used during that time period (1963).
3) One student in class can read Part A’s original language; then, another student can read the simplified version. Re-read both versions to yourself or with a partner and answer the 3 guiding questions. Discuss your answers as a whole group and repeat the same procedure for Part B.
PART A
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
SIMPLIFIED LANGUAGE: I have a dream that one day, our country will truly live by its belief that everyone is equal. I hope that my four little children will grow up in a nation where they are not judged based on their skin color, but on the kind of people they are.
- What is the message of this paragraph?
- What words or phrases does Dr. King use to make his message powerful?
- In his speech, Dr. King said that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” This quote comes from an important American document. What is it?
PART B
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
SIMPLIFIED LANGUAGE: But even after 100 years, things haven’t changed enough for African Americans. They still face segregation and discrimination, and many live in poverty while others have a lot of wealth. They feel like they don’t belong in their own country. Today, we are here to show how bad this situation is and try to make things better.
- What is the message of this paragraph?
- What words or phrases does Dr. King use to make his message powerful?
- In his 1963 speech, Dr. King used language that meant “we are here to show how bad this situation is, and try to make things better.”
What successes have African Americans had since then, and what challenges do they still have?
