MLK’s First Dream
- Aug 11, 2025
- 1 min read
By Jason Miller
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. first delivered the now famous refrain “I have a dream” in Rocky Mount, N.C., on Nov. 27, 1962. Dr. King ended his fifty-five minute speech in the Booker T. Washington Gymnasium by invoking the “How Long, Not Long” set-piece he made famous when he spoke from the steps of the capital at the end of the final march in Selma, Alabama on March 25, 1965. He then continued with eight consecutive lines of “I have a dream” before also ending with the “Let Freedom Ring” passage made famous when he spoke on the Mall of Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.
This speech in Rocky Mount is part sermon, part mass meeting, and part civil rights address. The rare and inspired delivery of all of his most dramatic endings and the unusual overlap of genres makes this address one of the most unique and historic speeches ever delivered by the twentieth century’s greatest orator. Now for the first time, this historic speech can be heard.
