

King believed the market operation of the American economy propagated unemployment, discrimination, and economic injustice. The original intent behind Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was an appeal to end economic and employment inequalities.

What was the purpose for the I Have a Dream speech? In the speech, he evoked the memory of Abraham Lincoln, the emancipation of the slaves, and the “shameful condition” of segregation in America 100 years after the American Civil War. On this location in 1963, Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. The freeze began taking hold after King’s assassination in 1968, Drew Hansen explains in his book The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech That Inspired a Nation. Why did Martin Luther King give his speech at the Lincoln Memorial? The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.

On August 28, 1963, at the March on Washingtonthe March on WashingtonThe March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963.
