A special event commemorating Martin Luther King’s momentous ‘I have a dream’ speech took place in Temple Bar’s Meeting House Square last Wednesday 28 August – 50 years to the date Dr King uttered those famous words.
The Dream Lives On was presented by the US Embassy in Dublin in tandem with Dublin City Council and the Temple Bar Cultural Trust, and featured an interactive re-enactment of the speech that Dr King delivered to an audience of 250,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
Sixteen activists for social justice were on hand to recite a section of the speech before inviting the audience to join in for the iconic final line: “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last”.
The event was part of The Dream @50, a worldwide celebration of Dr King’s rallying cry that culminated the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The night also included a screening of Soundtrack for a Revolution, a 2009 documentary telling the story of the American civil rights movement through interviews, archival footage and contemporary music performances.
“Dublin is honoured to be part of the world-wide celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s speech,” said Dublin Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn.
“Of course we also marked the 100th anniversary of the start of the 1913 Lockout this week, and both events remind us that although much has been achieved, we still need to do everything we can to further diversity and integration in our society.”
