On 28th August, thousands of people gathered in Washington DC to mark the completion of 50 years of a great occasion when on the same day in 1963, Martin Luther King Junior led a peaceful march in Washington and delivered his speech, ‘I have a dream’ which has been rated as the best speech of 20th century. The occasion was attended by a number of important politicians like the president Clinton and many others. But same day of August in 1963 was not so calm. The non-violence movement of Martin Luther King Junior to get the civil rights for the black Americans had passed through numerous stages and by then, it had reached its full maturity. Many marches were held in different cities of the country and then a march was announced to be held in Washington DC. This call was too much alarming for the president and his staff. They had reports about mass participation of people in these marches and it was feared that large number of people would gather in Washington as well and if this march got violent, it would be very difficult to control them. Special arrangements were made to handle any kind of situation; large numbers of police personnel were kept in reserve and even a special task force was ready to stop the supporters from attacking the White House. The crowd was also not in good mood and fears of government were right. They had faced all the atrocities of police. They had spent many days in jails and faced their torture and atrocities. Now, their patience was about to boil out and could no more wait for the promises of the government officials. Only thing that stopped them from going into extreme was words of their leaders who asked them repeatedly to refrain from any act of violence.

The day was hot and people started gathering near the Lincoln Memorial and before the speech of Martin Luther King Junior started, more than 250000 supporters had gathered. Martin Luther King Junior started his prepared speech but in the end he departed from this speech and talked about his dreams which made this speech famous as ‘I have a dream’. This speech mesmerized the public and as the speech was over, this huge crowd was too much calm and after the gathering was over, they dispersed in most peaceful and disciplined manner leaving behind a day which will always be remembered for a peaceful display of opinion. The leaders then went to the White House to hold meetings with the government officials who had understood that the movement would not come to an end unless the black Americans are given their rights and treated equally in the society.

In 1964, Martin Luther King Junior was awarded with Nobel peace prize. Though he was shot dead in 1968 but in the recognition of his services for social equality and civil rights, he was awarded with Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.  

Although he was assassinated, yet the tree that he had planted bore fruit and all the dreams that he mentioned in his speech have come true. Life and struggle of Martin Luther King Jr. offers numerous lessons for all those who want to turn their dreams into a reality. The first lesson is dedication and perseverance; those who want to achieve their dreams should never quit and display their full dedication. The difficulties of the way should not succeed in creating a drift in their beliefs and passions. One should never get disappointed of the difficulties and it should be remembered that bad days are not forever and one day, the conditions will turn in your favor and difficulties would wither away. And most importantly, a bad action should never be returned by a similar bad action. During his lifetime, he was threatened, blackmailed and in the end, assassinated, but he never left the way of peaceful attainment of his objectives and believed strongly in notion that a bad reply for a bad action would further complicate the situation and would never give the desired result. Such thinking is not long-lasting and may work only for a limited time but in long-run, only universal values and attitude would work.

In his lifetime, when the movement was facing strong retaliation in the form of torture and imprisonment of civil right supporters, many of his colleagues were of the view that they should resort to violence in order to force the government accept their demands but he never allowed any such act. Later on, it was realized that he had left a strong foundation of a movement that would never end without meeting its objectives. His ideology worked out and American blacks got all their rights. This success and achievement of American blacks in particular and the American society in general makes our belief strong on the blessings of democracy that if practiced and accepted with sincerity, it has the power to resolve all the issues and conflicts in the most suitable manner.

When we look at his dreams, these were the dreams that every member of a democratic society wants to achieve. The speech was delivered exactly hundred years after the law ‘Emancipation of Proclamation’ of 1863 which freed millions of slaves and ended slavery in United States forever so he begins with a reference to this historic act but at the same time says that, ‘one hundred years later, the negro is still not free’. The words used by Martin Luther King Junior were very impressive and thus I would like to quote some of the lines from his speech.

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 slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

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.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.

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.