S e c o n d e d I t I o n 1 Reading for the Real World 1

as far as
her citizens of color 
are concerned
. 
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 quiet and happy will have a 
rude awakening
if the nation returns to doing things the way they have always 
been done.
There will be neither rest nor peace in America until the Negro is given his 
rights as a citizen. But there is something that I must say to my people who 
stand waiting at the doorway into the palace of justice. In the process of getting 
our rights, we must not be guilty of wrongful acts. We must not allow our protest 
to fall into violence. Again and again we must rise to the challenge of meeting 
physical force with soul force. Go back to Mississippi. Go back to Alabama. Go 
back to Georgia. Go back to the ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that 
somehow this situation can and will be changed.
In spite of
the difficulties of the moment, 
I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day 
this nation will rise up and 
live out
the true 
meaning of its belief that all men are created 
equal. I have a dream that my four children will 
4
negro --- past term to refer to African-Americans, now considered 
offensive
9
as far as . . . are concerned --- with regard to 
12
rude awakening --- shocking surprise
22
in spite of --- despite
24
live out --- to live according to
Track 25
 

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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 that one day in the state of 
Alabama little black boys and little 
black girls will be able to join hands 
with little white boys and little white 
girls and walk together as sisters and 
brothers.
This is our hope. This is the faith 
with which I return to the South. With 
this faith we will be able 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 new meaning, “My country, ‘