Outlining Some Famous Martin Luther King Jr. Speeches

Martin Luther King was an American activist and an African-American civil rights leader who fought the segregation laws in the United States of America during the 1950s and 60s. King became famous for his practice of non-violent civil disobedience for the advancement of civil rights, which eventually won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Apart from his role in fighting segregation laws and civil rights, Martin Luther King Jr. is known for his moving speeches, which always left his audience in awe. So much was his fame that every third Monday of January is now observed as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Here are a few Martin Luther King Jr. speeches:

• Give Us The Ballot: On 17^th May 1957 in Washington DC, King gave this moving speech at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. This was a non-violent demonstration in which King demanded key changes in the voting rights for the African-American community. Some famous lines from this speech are:

This famous address eventually led to the voting rights for the African-American community.

• I Have A Dream: Perhaps one of the most historical and monumental speech ever to have been presented, I Have a Dream became one of the top American speeches of the 20^th century. On 28^th August 1963, during the March on Washington, King delivered this landmark of a speech to more than 200,000 supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. One of the most quoted line from this speech is:

You can learn more about speeches at Free Persuasive Speeches for PowerPoint.

• Beyond Vietnam: Martin Luther King gave this anti Vietnam War speech exactly one year before his assassination on April 4^th, 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York. In this speech he talked about the reasons for his harsh opposition of the war and the policies which created the war. Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence was highly criticized by a lot of civil rights leaders. The then President, Lyndon Johnson even revoked King’s white house invitation!

Sadly on April 4^th 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis as he stood out on the balcony of his room in a motel.