Martin Luther King Jr. has a captivating voice that drew the attention of not only the thousands of people, white and black, in attendance that day in 1963 but also hundreds of thousands of people since then. The way he emphasizes key words throughout the speech together with some of the unforgettable things he said makes it a speech many will always remember.

“Now is the time to make justice a reality for ALL of God’s children.” Martin Luther talked about his dream that all may live free, both white and black. He hoped that one day his four children may be seen not by their outward appearance but by what is on the inside. By telling everyone that now is the time he made it clear he did not want to wait any longer. He said that “This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.”

Martin Luther King Jr. had several pauses throughout his speech. While some were needed to emphasize a point or allow time for the audience to respond there were some that he could have done without. However, he did need to take time to look at his notes and with how energetic his audience was the pauses were rarely noticed.

In a 16 minute speech Mr. King made me believe that “all men are created equal” and should be treated that way. He was truly passionate about what he was persuading everyone to believe and it came through. By adding a thought at the end of his speech he made sure it would be one that no man, woman, child, white, or black would ever forget. “Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”