Today, August 28, the world honors the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic speech. Many don’t realize that even though King’s “I Have a Dream” speech marked a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement, it did not actually have a significant impact on legislation.
At the 2013 Aspen Ideas Festival, historian and rare documents collector David Rubenstein illuminates the speech’s historic significance. He discusses why it is hailed as a masterpiece of rhetoric and how it stacks up to other speeches, such as the Gettysburg Address and John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address. Watch now (1:36) to learn when and how it came to be synonymous with King.
Learn even more about the March and the speech’s place in history by watching Rubenstein’s entire session held on July 2, 2013—the 49th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
