Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “I have a dream that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” Since then, his dream started developing, and now we are experiencing his dream.

         On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in Washington D.C. for black and white people to listen. He emphasized how people of color, for hundreds of years, have never been free. Then he started the “I have a dream” sentences, “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.” After this, he said, “I have a dream” in front of all of the sentences that stated what he wished would happen instead of what was going on then. That’s when things started to change.

         The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a protest where people marched for rights. 250,000 people crowded in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It was the moment of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” presentation. Even though Martin gave his speech there, there was still more to what happened at the event. As all the other presenters wanted to speak earlier, and figuring news crews would head out by mid-afternoon, King agreed to speak last. He ended up speaking for 16 minutes, which was no problem because it became one of the most famous speeches of the civil rights movements, and put down in the book of human history.

         Martin Luther King Jr. Day became an American federal holiday on Nov. 3, 1983, when President Ronald Reagan approved a bill designating the third Monday of January, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. King’s birthday is actually January the 15th, but this 2020 we had it on the 20th. It also celebrates him as an influential American civil rights leader and commemorates his life achievements.

         Martin Luther King Jr. changed history one step at a time. The march and the speech were him helping to end segregation and unite us. Now we have a day in his recognition, plus the end of most segregation just like he dreamed of. It’s time for us to change injustice!