The “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered on August 28, 1963.

Key details

  • The speech was given by Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a major civil rights demonstration in Washington, D.C.
  • King spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd of about 250,000 people gathered to demand civil and economic rights for Black Americans.

Why that date matters

  • August 28, 1963, came at a peak moment in the civil rights movement, helping build momentum for landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • The speech’s “I have a dream” refrain and its vision of racial equality turned that summer day into one of the most iconic moments in American history.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.