"[In] this slim but powerful book . . . Younge is adept at
both distilling the facts and asking blunt questions."—Boston
Globe
"Unequivocal."—Financial
Times
"Gary
Younge's meditative retrospection on [the speech's] significance
reminds us of all the micro-moments of transformation behind the
scenes—the thought and preparation, vision and revision—whose
currency fed that magnificent lightning bolt in history."—Patricia
J. Williams
Gary
Younge explains why Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"
speech maintains its powerful social relevance by sharing the
dramatic story surrounding it. Fifty years later, "The Speech"
endures as a defining moment in the Civil Rights movement and a
guiding light in the ongoing struggle for racial equality.
Younge
roots his work in new and important interviews with Clarence Jones, a
close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. and his draft speechwriter;
with Joan Baez, a singer at the march; and with Angela Davis and
other leading civil rights leaders. Younge skillfully captures the
spirit of that historic day in Washington and offers a new generation
of readers a critical modern analysis of why "I Have a Dream"
remains America's favorite speech.
"Journalist Gary Younge offers a fascinating examination of
not only the famous “I Have a Dream” speech of Martin Luther
King, Jr., but also of the1963 March on Washington and the dynamics
surrounding it. He includes critical perspective on how a
still-racist society has misframed the speech, and on the need to
regain a more radical understanding of it—and King."
--Analysis, poet, minister and Red Emma's bookseller
