"I have a dream". Martin Luther King's speech. full text in Russian and English. Martin Luther King: I have a dream

This speech is considered one of the best speeches in history and was voted the best speech of the 20th century by the American public speaking community.

The speech was delivered during one of the most the most important stages The American movement for black rights in the USA 1955-1968 during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom.
On August 28, 1963, under a nearly cloudless sky, more than 250,000 people, a fifth of them white, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., under the slogan “jobs and freedom.”
The list of speakers included speakers from almost every segment of society - labor leaders, clergy, movie stars, and others.
Each speaker was allotted fifteen minutes, but the day belonged to a young and charismatic Baptist preacher from Tennessee.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. originally prepared a brief and somewhat formulaic account of the suffering of African Americans trying to realize their freedom in a society constrained by discrimination. He was about to sit down when singer Mahalia Jackson shouted, "Tell them about your dream, Martin! Tell them about your dream!"
Encouraged by the cries of the audience, King drew on some of his past speeches and the result was a landmark statement of civil rights in America—the dream of all people, of all races, colors and backgrounds, sharing an America marked by freedom and democracy.

King's speech was replete with references to the Bible, and also addressed the concepts of American freedom and equality that had long been proclaimed but had never been realized for African Americans. King, being an experienced preacher, perfectly structured the tempo of his speech, combining it with his singing timbre. The speech made an indelible impression on all participants in the march and ultimately forced the US authorities to grant equal rights to all its citizens

"I have a dream". Speech by Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963

(translated into Russian)

But after a hundred years we are forced to face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro, unfortunately, continues to be crippled by the shackles of segregation and the shackles of discrimination. A hundred years later, the black man lives on a deserted island of poverty in the middle of a vast ocean of material prosperity. A hundred years later, the black man still languishes on the margins of American society and finds himself in exile on his own land. So we came here today to highlight the drama of the deplorable situation.

In a sense, we came to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the beautiful words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note that every American would inherit. According to this bill, all people were guaranteed the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Today it has become obvious that America has not been able to pay on this bill what is due to its colored citizens. Instead of paying this sacred debt, America issued a bad check to the Negro people, which returned marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice has failed. We refuse to believe that there are not enough funds in the vast reservoirs of our state's capabilities. And we have come to receive this check - a check by which we will be given the treasures of freedom and guarantees of justice. We arrived here in this sacred place, also to remind America of the urgent requirement of today. This is not the time to be satisfied with pacifying measures or to take the sedative medicine of gradual solutions. It is time to emerge from the dark valley of segregation and enter the sunlit path of racial justice. It is time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. It is time to lead our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

We must always wage our struggle from a noble position of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. We must strive to reach great heights by matching physical strength with mental strength. The remarkable militancy which has taken possession of Negro society need not lead us to the distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers have realized, as evidenced by their presence here today, that their destiny is closely connected with our destiny and their freedom is inevitably connected with our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.
And once we start moving, we must swear that we will move forward. We cannot turn back. There are those who ask those dedicated to the cause of civil rights: "When will you calm down?" We will never rest until our bodies, heavy with the weariness of long journeys, can find lodgings in roadside motels and city inns. We will not rest as long as the main mode of movement of the Negro remains moving from a small ghetto to a large one. We will not rest until the Negro in Mississippi can't vote and the Negro in New York thinks he has nothing to vote for. No, we have no reason to rest, and we will never rest until justice begins to flow like waters, and righteousness becomes like a mighty stream.

I do not forget that many of you came here after going through great trials and suffering. Some of you have come here straight from cramped prison cells. Some of you have come from areas where you have been subjected to storms of persecution and police brutality for your desire for freedom. You have become veterans of creative suffering. Keep working, believing that undeserved suffering will be redeemed.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that one way or another this situation can and will change. Let us not suffer in the valley of despair.

I tell you today, my friends, that despite the difficulties and disappointments, I have a dream. This is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.
I have a dream that the day will come when our nation will rise up and live to see true meaning its motto: “We hold it self-evident that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that the day will come in the red hills of Georgia when the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveholders can sit together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that the day will come when even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering under the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that the day will come when my four children will live in a country where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by what they are.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that the day will come when in the state of Alabama, whose governor now claims to interfere in the internal affairs of the state and defy the laws passed by Congress, a situation will be created in which little black boys and girls can join hands with little white boys and girls and walk together like brothers and sisters.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that the day will come when all the lowlands will rise, all the hills and mountains will fall, the rough places will be turned into plains, the crooked places will become straight, the greatness of the Lord will appear before us and all mortals will be convinced of this together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South.
With this faith, we can hew the stone of hope from the mountain of despair. With this faith we can transform the discordant voices of our people into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we can work together, pray together, fight together, go to prison together, defend freedom together, knowing that one day we will be free.
This will be the day when all God's children will be able to sing, giving new meaning to these words: "My country, it is I you, sweet land of freedom, it is I who sing your praises. Land where my fathers died, land of pilgrims' pride, let freedom ring with all mountain slopes."
And if America is to be a great country, this must happen.
Let freedom ring from the tops of the stunning hills of New Hampshire!
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York!
Let freedom ring from the high Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Colorado Rockies!
Let freedom ring from the curved mountain peaks of California!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and knoll of the Mississippi!
Let freedom ring from every mountain slope!
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we can hasten the coming of that day when all of God's children, black and white, Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic, can join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual hymn: "Free at last! Free at last! Thanks to the almighty Lord, we are free at last!"

"I have a dream". Speech by Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963

(in English)

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of suffering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

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 an exile in his own land. And so we"ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we"ve 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 - yes, black men as well as white men - would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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. And so we"ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice. We have also come to his 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 make real the promises of democracy. 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 lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. 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 hoped 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 a 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 they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always 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 the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. 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 our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only "We cannot 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 jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by 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 South Carolina, 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 - so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, 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 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, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. 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, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country" tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father"s 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. And 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 snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes 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 molehill of Mississippi - from every mountainside.

Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow 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!"

Exactly half a century ago, on August 28, 1963, one of the most famous speeches in human history was made. On this day, the “March on Washington” took place - one of the most high-profile public actions of the movement for the rights of the black population of the United States. The highlight of the event was a speech by clergyman and human rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. The speech he delivered is known as “I Have a Dream” and is considered the most important milestone in modern American history.

Martin Luther King gave this speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington. During the performance, singer Mahalia Jackson was also on stage; during her speech, she addressed him: “Tell them about the dream, Martin.”
And the black shepherd told...
King's speech is considered one of the best speeches in history and was voted the best speech of the 20th century by the American public speaking community.

It would seem, why should we care about the anniversary of some famous speech in the USA? But listen, read these words... "We refuse to believe that the bank of justice has failed. We refuse to believe that there is not enough money in the vast storehouses of our state's capacity. And we have come to collect this check - a check that will give us the treasures of freedom and the guarantee of justice." But it sounds relevant not only for the USA in the 60s. last century, right?
And when we hear the words of Dr. King that the time has come to emerge from the dark valley of segregation and enter the sunlit path of racial justice, that it is necessary to lead people from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood - is this only about blacks? And isn’t it time for Russia to finally remember the wonderful words of the American shepherd?

According to the organizers, the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” as it was fully called, was supposed to gather about one hundred thousand people. In reality, more than two hundred thousand demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in the American capital. To mobilize them, two rival organizations that defended the rights of black people joined forces: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) - the latter was headed by the Reverend Dr. King.

One of the reasons for holding a large-scale demonstration was the initiative of President John Kennedy, who submitted to federal legislators a draft Civil Rights Act that would ban racial segregation in public places. The document stalled in Congress, and black protests in different states ended in violent clashes with the police, and the leaders of the human rights movement decided to gather their supporters in the very heart of the country.

Kennedy himself was skeptical about the idea of the March on Washington, fearing an escalation of violence. The organizers, for their part, insisted on the peaceful nature of the action and called for the participation of both blacks and representatives of other races who sympathized with them. By the way, the most radical representatives of the black movement, including the future ideologist of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, criticized the March for its multiracial composition, nonviolent nature and moderation of speakers, including King.

The SCLC leader spoke last. At the beginning of the speech, he turned to the figure of Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The main idea of the speech was that a hundred years after this significant event, the black population was still oppressed and did not receive equal rights with whites. “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is, unfortunately, still marred by the shackles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” Dr. King said. “A hundred years later, the black man lives on a lonely island of poverty in the middle of a vast ocean of material prosperity.”

Citing the Emancipation Proclamation, as well as the US Constitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bible, the reverend called on fellow citizens to strive for racial equality, without which, as he emphasized, it is impossible to realize the founding principles of the American nation. Presumably, the first part of his speech was based on a prepared text. The second, in which the “dream” theme appears, was an improvisation that in some places relied on previous speeches by King himself, and also included motifs used by another black preacher, Archibald Carey Jr.

Demonstrators march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial along the National Mall. Washington, August 28, 1963

“I have a dream that one day our nation will rise to its full stature and live out the true meaning of its creed - the truth we hold to be self-evident: that all men are created equal,” King declared. Further, the phrase “I have a dream” sounded as a refrain, pointing to the states in which segregation was most firmly entrenched. In conclusion, the human rights activist expressed hope that one day freedom and equality will triumph throughout the United States.

“With one sentence, Martin Luther King Jr. joined Jefferson and Lincoln as the men who shaped modern America,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jon Meacham. What is characteristic is that neither Jefferson, nor Lincoln, nor anyone else from the US historical pantheon was dedicated a separate national holiday - only King. Martin Luther King Day is now celebrated on the third Monday in January in all fifty states of the country.

The March on Washington and King's speech at it are considered to be the impetus for the adoption of federal laws in the United States that affirmed the rights of the black population. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed, prohibiting racial and other discrimination in government and public places. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination at the polls and established federal oversight of elections in states and districts where racist sentiments were traditionally strong. Both acts were signed by Lyndon Johnson, who took the place of Kennedy, who was assassinated in November 1963.

Soldiers beat civil rights marchers with batons in Selma, Alabama. March 7, 1965

King, meanwhile, strengthened his informal status as the leader of the entire movement for the rights of people of color. In 1963, Time magazine recognized the black civil rights activist as Person of the Year, and in 1964, King became the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which he was awarded for his nonviolent struggle against racial segregation. However, the country, despite the new laws, had difficulty assimilating King’s ideas. Local authorities continued to disperse black demonstrations - just remember the “Bloody Sunday” on March 7, 1965 in Alabama, and after just over three years the leader of the human rights movement was shot dead. As in the case of Kennedy, the killer was caught, but there is no clarity about the true organizers of the murder.

The fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington in the American capital began to be celebrated on Saturday, August 24. Tens of thousands of demonstrators, mostly black, gathered on the National Mall, where there is now a memorial to Martin Luther King. The main idea, voiced both in interviews with action participants and in media comments, boils down to the fact that the dream that the late human rights activist spoke about in his famous speech has not yet come true. According to the dissatisfied, even the election of the mulatto Barack Obama as president does not mean that the rights of African Americans are not infringed because of the color of their skin.

Some of Dr. King's followers are completely hopeless. “There is so much hate in this country that it will never be completely eradicated,” Tennessee resident Velma Louis Jones, who participated in both the 1963 march and the memorial demonstration on the National Mall fifty years later, told reporters.
(from here)

But I think it’s still very important that Dr. King was able to say his cherished “I have a dream.”
And a lot has really changed. Although what is more important is not that a black man became president of the United States, but that someday people of all skin colors will truly feel like brothers in Christ.

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 of light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of suffering 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 its 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.

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 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!"

"I have a dream". Speech by Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963
Five decades ago, the great American under whose symbolic shadow we gather today signed the Negro Emancipation Proclamation. This important decree became a majestic beacon of light of hope for millions of black slaves scorched by the flames of withering injustice. It became a joyful dawn that ended the long night of captivity.

Today it has become obvious that America has not been able to pay on this bill what is due to its colored citizens. Instead of paying this sacred debt, America issued a bad check to the Negro people, which returned marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice has failed. We refuse to believe that there are not enough funds in the vast reservoirs of our state's capabilities. And we have come to receive this check - a check by which we will be given the treasures of freedom and guarantees of justice. We have come here to this sacred place also to remind America of the urgent requirement of today. This is not the time to be satisfied with pacifying measures or to take the sedative medicine of gradual solutions. It is time to emerge from the dark valley of segregation and enter the sunlit path of racial justice. It is time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. It is time to lead our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be mortally dangerous for our nation to ignore the special importance of this moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negroes. The sultry summer of legitimate Negro discontent will not end until the invigorating autumn of freedom and equality arrives. 1963 is not the end, but the beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to let off steam and will now calm down will have a rude awakening if our nation returns to business as usual. Until the Negro is given his civil rights, America will see neither serenity nor peace. Revolutionary storms will continue to shake the foundations of our state until the bright day of justice comes.
But there is something else that I must say to my people who stand on the blessed threshold at the entrance to the palace of justice. In the process of conquering our rightful place, we should not give grounds for accusations of unseemly actions. Let us not seek to quench our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must always wage our struggle from a noble position of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. We must strive to reach great heights by matching physical strength with mental strength. The remarkable militancy which has taken possession of Negro society need not lead us to the distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers have realized, as evidenced by their presence here today, that their destiny is closely connected with our destiny and their freedom is inevitably connected with our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.
And once we start moving, we must swear that we will move forward.
We can't turn back. There are those who ask those dedicated to the cause of civil rights: "When will you calm down?" We will never rest until our bodies, heavy with the weariness of long journeys, can find lodgings in roadside motels and city inns. We will not rest as long as the main mode of movement of the Negro remains moving from a small ghetto to a large one. We will not rest until the Negro in Mississippi can't vote and the Negro in New York thinks he has nothing to vote for. No, we have no reason to rest, and we will never rest until justice begins to flow like waters, and righteousness becomes like a mighty stream.
I do not forget that many of you came here after going through great trials and suffering. Some of you have come here straight from cramped prison cells. Some of you have come from areas where you have been subjected to storms of persecution and police brutality for your desire for freedom. You have become veterans of creative suffering. Keep working, believing that undeserved suffering will be redeemed.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that one way or another this situation can and will change. Let us not suffer in the valley of despair.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South.
With this faith, we can hew the stone of hope from the mountain of despair. With this faith we can transform the discordant voices of our people into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we can work together, pray together, fight together, go to prison together, defend freedom together, knowing that one day we will be free.
This will be the day when all God's children will be able to sing, giving new meaning to these words: "My country, it is I you, sweet land of freedom, it is I who sing your praises. Land where my fathers died, land of pilgrims' pride, let freedom ring with all mountain slopes."

And if America is to be a great country, this must happen.
Let freedom ring from the tops of the stunning hills of New Hampshire!
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York!
Let freedom ring from the high Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Colorado Rockies!
Let freedom ring from the curved mountain peaks of California!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and knoll of the Mississippi!
Let freedom ring from every mountain slope!
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we can hasten the coming of that day when all of God's children, black and white, Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic, can join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual hymn: "Free at last! Free at last! Thanks to the almighty Lord, we are free at last!"

Martin Luther King is famous for his statements not only about human rights, but also about morality. Courage, boldness, perseverance and nobility are perhaps a small part of the characteristics that the American politician possessed:

"Love is the only force that can turn any enemy into a friend.

If a person has not discovered something for himself that he is ready to die for, he is not able to live fully

If they told me that the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree today.

Science research has overtaken spiritual development. We have guided missiles and unguided people.

The ultimate measure of a person's worth is not how he behaves in times of comfort and convenience, but how he carries himself in times of struggle and controversy.

Cowardice asks - is it safe? Expediency asks: is it prudent? Vanity asks - is this popular? But conscience asks: is this right? And the time comes when you have to take a position that is neither safe, nor prudent, nor popular, but it must be taken because it is right."

Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta (Georgia) in the family of a Baptist church pastor. The Kings' home was located on Auburn Avenue, a middle-class black neighborhood in Atlanta. At the age of 13, he entered the Lyceum at Atlanta University. At age 15, he won a public speaking competition sponsored by an African-American organization in Georgia.

In the fall of 1944, King entered Morehouse College. During this period he became a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Here he learned that not only blacks, but also many whites, were opposed to racism.

In 1947, King was ordained as a minister, becoming his father's assistant in the church. After receiving a bachelor's degree in sociology from college in 1948, he attended Crowser Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor of divinity degree in 1951. In 1955, Boston University awarded him the degree of Doctor of Theology.

King often attended Ebenezer Baptist Church, where his father served.

In 1954, King became pastor of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. In Montgomery, he led a major black protest against racial segregation on public transportation following the December 1955 Rosa Parks incident. The boycott of bus lines in Montgomery, which lasted 381 days, despite the resistance of the authorities and racists, led to the success of the action - the US Supreme Court declared segregation in Alabama unconstitutional.

In January 1957, King was elected head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization created to fight for civil rights for African-Americans. In September 1958, he was stabbed in Harlem. In 1960, King, at the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru, visited India, where he studied the activities of Mahatma Gandhi.

With his speeches (some of them are now considered classics of oratory), he called for achieving equality through peaceful means. His speeches gave energy to the civil rights movement in society - marches began, economic boycotts, mass departures to prison, and so on.

Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, which was heard by about 300 thousand Americans during the March on Washington in 1963 at the foot of the Lincoln Monument, became widely known. In this speech he celebrated racial reconciliation. King redefined the essence of the American democratic dream and ignited a new spiritual fire in it. King's role in the nonviolent struggle to pass laws prohibiting racial discrimination was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.

As a politician, King was a truly unique figure. In laying out the essence of his leadership, he spoke primarily in religious terms. He defined the leadership of the civil rights movement as a continuation of earlier pastoral service and used the African American religious experience in most of his messages. By the traditional standard of American political opinion, he was a leader who believed in Christian love.

Like so many other prominent figures in American history, King resorted to religious phraseology, thereby evoking an enthusiastic spiritual response from his audience.

On March 28, 1968, King led a 6,000-strong protest march in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking workers. On April 3, speaking in Memphis, King said: “We have difficult days ahead. But it does not matter. Because I have been to the top of the mountain... I looked ahead and saw the Promised Land. I may not be there with you, but I want you to know now that all of us, all the people, will see this Earth.” On April 4, at 6:01 p.m., King was fatally wounded by a sniper while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

“The murder sparked nationwide outrage, with black people rioting in more than a hundred cities. In the federal capital, houses burned six blocks from the White House, and machine gunners were stationed on the balconies of the Capitol and the lawns around the White House. Across the country, 48 people were killed, 2.5 thousand were wounded, and 70 thousand soldiers were sent to suppress the unrest. In the eyes of activists, King's assassination symbolized the incorrigibility of the system and convinced thousands of people that nonviolent resistance was a dead end. More and more blacks turned their attention to organizations like the Black Panthers.

The killer, James Earl Ray, received a 99-year prison sentence. It was officially accepted that Ray was a lone killer, but many believe that King fell victim to a conspiracy. The Episcopal Church in the USA recognized King as a martyr who gave his life for the Christian faith; his statue is placed in Westminster Abbey (England) among the martyrs of the 20th century. King was nominated as an anointed man of God and was considered to be at the forefront of the democratic achievements of the civil rights movement.

King was the first black American to have a bust erected in the Great Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington. The third Monday in January is celebrated in America as Martin Luther King Day and is considered a national holiday.

From the speech "I have a dream":

“And although we face challenges today and will face them tomorrow, I still have a dream. This dream is deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will stand upright and live by the true meaning of its principle: “We hold it to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”

I dream that one day in the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveholders will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.

I dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, sweltering under the heat of injustice and oppression, will turn into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I dream that the day will come when my four children will live in a country where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but according to their personality traits.

I'm dreaming today!

I have a dream today that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists and a governor whose lips come with words of intervention and nullification, one day, in Alabama, little black boys and girls will join hands as sisters and brothers with little white boys and girls.

Original text (English)

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, 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 slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

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 spent a long time trying to figure out where to start with the story of Martin Luther King. His biography was short but rich. Martin Luther King was the first priest and African-American leader in the fight for human rights. His performances inspired thousands to believe in victory and will not leave them indifferent even now. Martin Luther King Jr.'s key speech, "I Have a Dream," is an example of oratory, sincere faith and love.

Martin Luther King in a few words:

“If they told me that the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree today.”
“Take the first step by believing. You don't need to see the whole staircase - just step on the first step."
“Faith, like light, should always be simple and direct.”
“Everything we see is a shadow cast by what we do not see.”
“A person cannot ride on your back unless it is bent.”

3 Key Questions Reveal the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.:

1) Fetus during life

2) Fetus after life

3) Personal life/inner harmony

Biography of Martin Luther King

In order, the life of the future activist began on January 15, 1929 in Georgia, USA. Martin Luther King's father was a Baptist pastor. Initially, Martin took the exams as an external student and already at a young age (15 years old), Martin won a public speaking competition, and later at the age of 19 he became an ordained minister in the church. At one time, King doubted future profession and chose between medicine and law, and not serving in the church, but God led to true understanding. For King, the influence of a competent and educated leader through the pastoral ministry became clear. Martin received his scholarship of $1,200 to complete his studies at any university and, choosing Boston University, achieved successful completion. Martin Luther King received his Doctor of Theology degree in 1955.

Life flowed in the standard direction - marriage to Coretta in 1953. There is little information about King's bride, except that the girl had a diploma in vocals and violin, and also decided to leave the opportunity to be a singer for the sake of her future family. Then the birth of 4 children in the King family.

King's social activities

At the same time, Martin Luther King was a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama. Here he led protests against separation in public transport (there was a ban for black people to sit when white passengers entered, up to proceedings at the police station) and a boycott of public transport by the black population (the duration lasted almost a year). Martin Luther King ensured that the authorities recognized the illegality of such a division.

Next came the organization of sit-ins in public places by the black population. Since not everyone liked such activities, Martin was charged and arrested, but they could not provide substantiated charges and were released.

In 1958, King suffered a stab wound by a mentally ill woman while signing autographs. But Martin Luther King continued to take an active part in the fight against racism, defending the principles of equality peacefully. He was and remains a motivator for action among thousands of followers. His active life position, faith in God and love for people gave a powerful impetus to action and struggle, which was expressed in marches, boycotts and other protests.

Achievements of Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his contributions to racial reconciliation. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech I have a dream"), which was listened to by about 300 thousand people. in Washington in 1963 and tens of millions on television. Symbolically, the action took place near the Lincoln Monument. Key words: “I have a dream that one day this nation will stand upright and live according to the true meaning of its principle: “We hold it to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”

Even secular sources draw attention to the originality of Martin Luther King, expressed in Christian concepts that were always present as the basis of every speech. His leadership position was based on Christian love, in which he believed unconditionally.

He sought to improve the living conditions of the black population, fighting the problems of unemployment, hunger and poverty, but did not have time to develop programs to solve the current situation. King's views covered various areas, including his opposition to the Vietnam War.

The last event in King's activities was the march on March 28, 1968, with 6 thousand participants. The main goal was to support striking workers. Already on April 4 in Memphis, a sniper mortally wounded Martin Luther King. The killer was sentenced to 99 years in prison; he initially confessed, accepting the blame, but later retracted his admissions of guilt. There is an opinion that King was the victim of a conspiracy, which is very similar to the truth. Martin Luther King's last speech was like a prediction: “We have difficult days ahead. But it does not matter. Because I've been to the top of the mountain. I looked ahead and saw the Promised Land. I may not achieve it with you, but I want you to know that we humans will achieve it.” One can imagine how significant a figure Martin Luther King was for the country - more than 100 thousand people came to pay tribute to the funeral.

Martin Luther King always remained faithful to God, this was confirmed by his quotes based on Biblical principles and used in all his speeches. King placed great emphasis on the importance of loving your neighbor as yourself, even applying this principle to your enemies and praying for them. The idea originated in the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Matthew. King used the term Agape in his activities - sacrificial, condescending to one's neighbor, which was reflected by example in his own life.

Works of Martin Luther King

I have written several books with titles that speak for themselves: “Step towards freedom”, “Why we can’t wait”, “Which direction will we go - towards chaos or community? “.

The memory of Martin Luther King is still revered by the country - from the celebration of his birthday in January at the state level to the recognition of Martin Luther King as a martyr by the church.

Martin Luther King quotes:

– “Darkness cannot drive away darkness, and only light can do this. Hatred cannot drive out hatred, only love can do that.”
“Each person must decide whether he will live in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

“The ultimate measure of a person’s worth is not how he behaves in times of comfort and convenience, but how he carries himself in times of struggle and controversy.”

– “Cowardice asks: is it safe? Expediency asks - is it prudent? Vanity asks - is this popular? But conscience asks - is this right? And the time comes when you have to take a position that is neither safe, nor prudent, nor popular, but it must be taken because it is right.”

-“Anyone can become great... because everyone can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve people.”

– “It is not necessary to put the emphasis on words correctly. All it takes is a heart that has grace in it. The soul in which love operates."

Achievement

Only a person with a full heart of love can overcome obstacles, threats to life and move forward with purpose.

All his activities were imbued with a reference to God.

If you answer the key questions, you understand that

1) The fruit during life is an appeal to millions and influence God's love on the hearts of both black people (avoiding violence) and white people (attracting to the idea of equality and respecting others as oneself).

2) The fruit after life is an example of personal service to others in love and respect, these are laws that changed the culture of the country for many years

3) Personal life / inner harmony - Martin Luther King was and remains a fighter for justice through God's principles, his instrument, this inspiration from the heart through the gifts that he generously received from God (oratory, the ability to lead thousands). His seed did not remain forgotten, it is alive and now as a light for the oppressed.

Interesting facts from the life of Martin Luther King:

– the father changed his name to Martin Luther in honor of the German reformer and gave the same to his son;

60s of the 20th century. became a period of unprecedented intensification of American protest movements - anti-war, youth, women's and racial minorities. During these same years, all movements had popular leaders, whose names these movements began to be associated with.
On August 28, 1963, a grand rally took place in Washington in defense of the civil rights of the African-American population in the United States. 250 thousand white and colored Americans took part in it. The famous black preacher, one of the most active figures in the American movement for equal rights, Martin Luther King Jr., addressed the audience. The speech he made on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington went down in history under the title “I have a dream” - a phrase that King repeated several times.

Martin Luther King (1929-1968)

Five decades ago, the great American under whose symbolic shadow we gather today signed the Negro Emancipation Proclamation. This important decree became a majestic beacon of light of hope for millions of black slaves scorched by the flames of withering injustice. It became a joyful dawn that ended the long night of captivity.
But after a hundred years we are forced to face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro, unfortunately, continues to be crippled by the shackles of segregation and the shackles of discrimination. A hundred years later, the black man lives on a deserted island of poverty in the middle of a vast ocean of material prosperity. A hundred years later, the black man still languishes on the margins of American society and finds himself in exile on his own land. So we came here today to highlight the drama of the deplorable situation.
In a sense, we came to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the beautiful words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note that every American would inherit. According to this bill, all people were guaranteed the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Today it has become obvious that America has not been able to pay on this bill what is due to its colored citizens. Instead of paying this sacred debt, America issued a bad check to the Negro people, which returned marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice has failed. We refuse to believe that there are not enough funds in the vast reservoirs of our state's capabilities. And we have come to receive this check - a check by which we will be given the treasures of freedom and guarantees of justice. We have come here to this sacred place also to remind America of the urgent requirement of today. This is not the time to be satisfied with pacifying measures or to take the sedative medicine of gradual solutions. It is time to emerge from the dark valley of segregation and enter the sunlit path of racial justice. It is time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. It is time to lead our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
It would be mortally dangerous for our nation to ignore the special importance of this moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negroes. The sultry summer of legitimate Negro discontent will not end until the invigorating autumn of freedom and equality arrives. 1963 is not the end, but the beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to let off steam and will now calm down will have a rude awakening if our nation returns to business as usual. Until the Negro is given his civil rights, America will see neither serenity nor peace. Revolutionary storms will continue to shake the foundations of our state until the bright day of justice comes.
But there is something else that I must say to my people who stand on the blessed threshold at the entrance to the palace of justice. In the process of conquering our rightful place, we should not give grounds for accusations of unseemly actions. Let us not seek to quench our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
We must always wage our struggle from a noble position of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. We must strive to reach great heights by matching physical strength with mental strength. The remarkable militancy which has taken possession of Negro society need not lead us to the distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers have realized, as evidenced by their presence here today, that their destiny is closely connected with our destiny and their freedom is inevitably connected with our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And once we start moving, we must swear that we will move forward.
We can't turn back. There are those who ask those dedicated to the cause of civil rights: "When will you calm down?" We will never rest until our bodies, heavy with the weariness of long journeys, can find lodgings in roadside motels and city inns. We will not rest as long as the main mode of movement of the Negro remains moving from a small ghetto to a large one. We won't rest until a Negro in Mississippi can't vote and a Negro in
New York City believes it has nothing to vote for. No, we have no reason to rest, and we will never rest until justice begins to flow like waters, and righteousness becomes like a mighty stream.
I do not forget that many of you came here after going through great trials and suffering. Some of you have come here straight from cramped prison cells. Some of you have come from areas where you have been subjected to storms of persecution and police brutality for your desire for freedom. You have become veterans of creative suffering. Keep working, believing that undeserved suffering will be redeemed.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that one way or another this situation can and will change. Let us not suffer in the valley of despair.
I tell you today, my friends, that despite the difficulties and disappointments, I have a dream. This is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.
I have a dream that the day will come when our nation will rise up and live up to the true meaning of its motto: “We hold it to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that the day will come in the red hills of Georgia when the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveholders can sit together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that the day will come when even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering under the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that the day will come when my four children will live in a country where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by what they are.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that the day will come when in the state of Alabama, whose governor now claims to interfere in the internal affairs of the state and defy the laws passed by Congress, a situation will be created in which little black boys and girls can join hands with little white boys and girls and walk together like brothers and sisters.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that the day will come when all the lowlands will rise, all the hills and mountains will fall, the rough places will be turned into plains, the crooked places will become straight, the greatness of the Lord will appear before us and all mortals will be convinced of this together.
This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South.
With this faith, we can hew the stone of hope from the mountain of despair. With this faith we can transform the discordant voices of our people into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we can work together, pray together, fight together, go to prison together, defend freedom together, knowing that one day we will be free.
This will be the day when all God's children will be able to sing, giving new meaning to these words: "My country, it is I you, sweet land of freedom, it is I who sing your praises. Land where my fathers died, land of pilgrims' pride, let freedom ring with all mountain slopes."
And if America is to be a great country, this must happen.
Let freedom ring from the tops of the stunning hills of New Hampshire!
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York!
Let freedom ring from the high Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Colorado Rockies!
Let freedom ring from the curved mountain peaks of California!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain in Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and knoll of the Mississippi!
Let freedom ring from every mountain slope!
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we can hasten the coming of that day when all of God's children, black and white, Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic, can join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual hymn: "Free at last! Free at last! Thanks to the almighty Lord, we are free at last!"