A step toward freedom Jan 18, 2021

A step toward freedom

This inscription marks the spot on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, where civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. stood while delivering his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was August 28, 1963, and King was addressing a quarter-million people spread across the National Mall during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. King referred to written notes for most of the speech, but as he neared the end of his prepared remarks, he heard gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was standing nearby, shout out, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" King responded by partly improvising the rest of his message in a soaring, sermon-like delivery, punctuating his ideas repeatedly with that single phrase, "I have a dream." King"s dream for racial justice, so eloquently shared that day, would resonate through the crowd and across the nation, bringing passionate new energy to the civil rights movement. It still resonates today.

© Pgiam/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jan 18, 2018Entoloma hochstetteri mushroom at Lake Mahinapua, New Zealand
Jan 18, 2019An opulent backdrop for a historic event
Jan 18, 2020Sands of time
Jan 18, 2022Winnie-the-Pooh Day
Jan 18, 2023White Sands National Park turns 90
Jan 18, 2024Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France
Jan 18, 2025Dunes at White Sands National Park, New Mexico

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 26, 2021World Rivers Day
Apr 2, 2022Whangārei Falls in New Zealand
Apr 5, 2019A day of death and rebirth
Jan 15, 2025Anniversary of the British Museum
May 17, 2019Work out on your way to work
Aug 9, 2020A peek at an explosive peak
Nov 12, 2019Sleep tight, little hedgehog
Sep 21, 2021An old celebration for a new season
Oct 28, 2018Do spirits haunt the Gardens of Versailles?
Nov 21, 2019Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
Oct 18, 2023Alaska Day
Sep 27, 2022Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
Feb 11, 2022harlem
Apr 11, 2020Think deep thoughts
Sep 5, 20242024 Toronto International Film Festival
Mar 23, 2018Happy World Meteorological Day
Apr 10, 2019Siblings that play together…
Feb 6, 2022Oymyakon, Russia
May 14, 2021A misty morning in Brazil
Mar 21, 2018Celebrating the International Day of Forests
Feb 13, 2023El Valle de la Luna, Chile
Jun 19, 2018Dancers perform ‘Revelations’
May 17, 2023Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California
Jan 30, 2021Even nature needs a backup plan…
Sep 15, 2023National Hispanic Heritage Month
Sep 21, 2020A gentle wind fills this sail
May 15, 2024The Blue City of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Oct 6, 2020Water colors
Jan 2, 2020Winter in the Finnish wilds
Feb 9, 2025Alstrom Point, Lake Powell, Utah