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美國在1861年的內戰，雖然解放了黑奴，但美國的種族隔離仍然持續，尤其在南部，黑人不能入讀白人學校、不能在招待白人的餐廳進食、不能乘坐同一輛公共汽車、或必須讓座給白人。北部情況較佳，但黑人的待遇仍然很差。
美國的黑人在1950年代，展開爭取民權的運動。南部一名黑人女人拒絕讓座給白人而被捕的事件，激起持續的抗議行動。當時在教會當傳道人的馬丁路德金（Martin
Luther King），亦投入爭取黑人民權運動的行列。
1963年8月28日， 25萬人響應馬丁路德金的號召，在美國首都華盛頓遊行，爭取立法保障黑人的權利。馬丁路德金在林肯紀念館前的石階，對群眾發表著名的「我有一個夢想」（I
have a Dream）演說，希望白人和黑人有一天可平等地生活在一起。
馬丁路德金曾訪問印度，終身視印度聖雄甘地為偶像，認同甘地以和平抗爭的手法爭取民權，馬丁路德金於1964年，獲得諾貝爾和平獎。
1968年4月4日，馬丁路德金被行刺，一顆子彈奪去了他僅39歲的生命。全國超過一百個城市爆發暴亂，不過馬丁路德金的理念已深植美國人心底，無數群眾，包括白人、黑人，扶老攜幼，唱起"We
Shall Overcome"，和平地紀念他的逝世……
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I have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
D.C. on August 28, 1963
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic
shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This
momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to
millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames
of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to
end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact
that the Negro is still 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 languishing in the
corners of American society and finds himself an exile in
his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an
appalling condition.
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash
a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent
words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence,
they were signing a promissory note to which every American
was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would
be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory
note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead
of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the
Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient
funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice
is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient
funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will
give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security
of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind
America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to
engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing
drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark
and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of
racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity
to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation
from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock
of brotherhood.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency
of the moment and to underestimate the determination of
the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate
discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating
autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is
not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro
needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have
a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until
the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds
of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our
nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who
stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace
of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place
we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek
to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup
of bitterness and hatred.
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of
dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest
to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we
must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force
with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed
the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all
white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced
by their presence here today, have come to realize that
their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom
is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march
ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking
the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"
We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with
the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels
of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot
be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from
a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied
as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro
in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No,
no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until
justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a
mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of
great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh
from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where
your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of
persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality.
You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue
to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
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.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties
and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It
is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
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 one day on the red hills of Georgia
the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners
will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi,
a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom
and justice.
I have a dream that my four 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.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose
governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of
interposition and nullification, will be transformed into
a situation where little black boys and black girls will
be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls
and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted,
every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places
will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made
straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and
all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return
to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out
of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith
we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our
nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this
faith we will be able to work together, to pray together,
to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up
for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be
able to sing with a new meaning
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring.
And if America is to be a great nation this must become
true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of
New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains
of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies
of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain
of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every
village and every hamlet, from every state and every city,
we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children,
black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants
and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the
words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free
at last! thank God almighty, we are free at last!"
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在林肯之後大約一百年，美國又出現一位偉大的演說家--六十年代黑人民權運動家馬丁路德金（Martin
Luther King），這次要介紹的是他一篇傳頌千古、光芒四射的演說《我有一個夢想》（I have a Dream）。
馬丁路德金也用了和林肯一樣的技巧，不斷重覆I
have a dream這句子。夢想（Dream）雖然也虛無飄渺，但"Dream"是一個實物名詞，即中文的形像思維，由於每個人都會做夢，用它來代表理想（Ideal）和希望（Hope），比後兩者來得更有力。事實上，我們無論富貧，每個人都會有夢想，或希望中六合彩，或希望家庭和諧。馬丁路德金對著千萬聽眾，重覆I
have a dream不下十多次，就像林肯在蓋提斯堡演說中，重覆Dedicated這個字眼一樣，對群眾產生很大的煽動力︰
I say to you today, my
friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations
of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply
rooted in the American dream.
American dream即美國夢，代表了美國開國以來，無數歐洲移民和難民，憑自己一雙手在新大陸開拓土地和創造財富的故事，是美國人共同的夢想。馬丁路德金很技巧地不斷重覆Dream這個字眼，喚起美國人的記憶。
演說中，馬丁路德金也善用重覆的技巧於其他字眼身上，例如︰With
this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together,
to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand
up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free
one day. 可以設想，馬丁路德金當日用雄渾的黑人聲腔，在廣場上對著萬千黑人和白人，不斷重覆Together這個字，加上他有力的雙臂，煽動力之強可想而知。難怪美國政府也不能容忍，於是，沒有人知道為什麼，一名刺客在一間汽車酒店中，用一顆子彈奪去了他的生命。
馬丁路德金的演講對象主要是黑人，當時黑人一般教育程度不高，因此他在演說中沒有引用什麼名人、哲學家的金句，反而很聰明地引用了一首黑人很熟悉的兒歌，令聽眾產生認同感，從而加強其演說的威力︰
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring.
馬丁路德金在演講的最後部分成功控制節奏，將演講推向口號的高潮︰Free
at last! free at last! thank God almighty, we are free
at last! 演講本來不宜使用口號，但如果運用得當，卻可以將民眾的情緒推向高峰。
馬丁路德金利用顯淺的英文表達偉大的意念，對政治人物有不少有用的啟示。如香港特區政府的領導人曾說，希望可以超倫敦趕紐約，將香港變成像倫敦和紐約一樣的國際大都市，不少人引為笑柄。其實這完全是表達的問題，如果他們可以借鑒馬丁路德金的演說，用這樣的句子表達︰
I have a dream that one
day Hong Kong will become as prosperous as London and
as multicultural as New York.
用I have a dream開始，就可以把香港六百萬人的視線提高，引領到像星空一樣高的層次。一位懂得表達的領袖，確實可大大提升自己的形像，面對香港目前充滿爭拗和分化的處境，他也可以這樣說︰
I have a dream that one
day the 6 million people will hold hand together and rebuild
Hong Kong into a new home. 用I have a dream開頭，大家聽起來的感覺一定會大大不同！
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