Speeches

For the convenience of teachers, students, and interested citizens, here are links to a selection of many important speeches closely associated with the African American Freedom Struggle, particularly those speeches that were made between 1955 and 1972. (The speeches are alphabetized by speaker’s last name. When there is more than one entry for a speaker, the items are arranged chronologically.)

Baker, Ella:

 “Bigger Than a Hamburger”: delivered at the organizational meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Raleigh, North Carolina in April, 1960. (Baker was one described by Fannie Lou Hamer as “the most important black leader in the United States.”)

“Address at Hattiesburg”: delivered at the Hattiesburg Freedom Day Rally on January 21, 1964.

 

 

Brown, H. Rap:

“The Third World and the Ghetto”: delivered in Cambridge, Maryland on July 24, 1967.

 

Carmichael, Stokely:

“Black Power”: delivered on October 29, 1966. (For more on this speech, consult the information on the Voices of Democracy web site.)

 

 

 

Chisholm, Shirley:

“For the Equal Rights Amendment”: delivered on August 10, 1970.

 

 

Evers, Medgar:

May 20, 1963 speech on WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi.

 

 

 

 

 

Gregory, Dick:

Speech at St. John’s Baptist Church: delivered on May 20, 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hamer, Fannie Lou:

Speech Before the Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention: delivered in Atlantic City on August 22, 1964.

“We’re on Our Way”: delivered to citizens in Indianola, Mississippi, in September 1964.

 

 

 

Johnson, Lyndon B.:

“We Shall Overcome”: address to a Joint Session of Congress on voting right legislation in Washington, D.C. on March 15, 1965. (For more on this speech, consult the information on the Voices of Democracy web site.)

“To Fulfill These Rights”: delivered at Howard University’s commencement in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 1965.

Address to the Nation Upon Proclaiming a Day of Mourning (on April 5, 1968).

 

Kennedy, John F.:

Reference the Voices of Democracy entry of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech (January 20, 1961) here.

“Civil Rights Address”: Kennedy’s televised speech to the nation, delivered on June 11, 1963.

 

 

 

 

King, Martin Luther:

“Transformed Nonconformist”: a sermon first preached in Montgomery, Alabama in November, 1954 and repeated over the next several years.

Address to the first Montgomery Improvement Association Mass Meeting (listen to audio) at Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama on December 5, 1955.

“The Birth of a New Nation”: a report on Dr. King’s trip to Ghana, delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama on April 7, 1957.

“A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations” presented at the St. Louis Freedom Rally on April 10, 1957.

“Give Us the Ballot”: a public address given at the Prayer Pilgrimage in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 1957.

“Loving Your Enemies”: a sermon presented at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama on November 17, 1957.

“Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience”: an address delivered at the annual meeting of the biracial Fellowship of the Concerned in Atlanta, Georgia on November 16, 1961.

Speech at the Great March on Detroit : Dr. King’s speech to a rally at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan on June 23, 1963 (it previews part of Dr. King’s speech at the March on Washington two months later).

“I Have a Dream”: Dr. King’s address at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.

Eulogy for the Young Victims of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing:  offered at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 18, 1963, three days after the bombing. (A student’s analysis of King’s eulogy can be found here.)

Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech: presented at the University of Oslo in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 1964.

King at Penn State: Dr. King’s speech at Penn State University on January 21, 1965. (Follow the link to read a student’s analysis of what he said.)

Address at the Conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 25, 1965. (For more on this speech, consult the information on the Voices of Democracy web site.)

“Beyond Vietnam”: Dr. King offers his public renunciation of the war in Vietnam at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967.

“Where Do We Go From Here?”: Dr. King’s keynote address at the 11th Annual SCLC Convention in Atlanta, Georgia on August 16, 1967.

“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”: King’s final speech before a rally at Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 3, 1968.

Lewis, John:

“We Are in a Serious Revolution”: presented at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. (For more on this speech, consult the information on the Voices of Democracy web site.)

Marshall, Thurgood:

“No Peace at Any Cost”: delivered at the Seventh Annual Institute on Race Relations at Fisk University during the summer of 1961. (Follow the link to read a student’s analysis of the address.)

Milk, Harvey:

“You’ve Got to Have Hope“: delivered June 24, 1977.

Obama, Barack:

“A More Perfect Union”: presented at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008.

 

 

 

 

Wallace, George:

Inaugural Address: delivered in Montgomery, Alabama on January 14, 1963.

On Civil Rights during the Selma Campaign: an address to the Alabama state legislature on March 18, 1965.

Washington, Booker T.:

“Atlanta Compromise”: delivered at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia on September 18, 1895. For more information about this speech consult the Voices of Democracy entry here. The Voices of Democracy also have suggested resources referencing this speech here.

 

 

 

 

Wells, Ida B.:

“Lynch Law”: delivered in Boston on February 13, 1983.

Wilkins, Roy:

“The Clock Will Not Be Turned Back”: delivered at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on November 1, 1957.  Follow the link to read a student’s analysis of the speech.

X, Malcolm:

“The Race Problem in America” – Address at Michigan State University presented in East Lansing, Michigan on January 23, 1963. (For a student’s work on this speech, click here.)

Remarks at the Harlem Unity Rally (August 10, 1963).

“Message to the Grassroots”: presented at Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan during a meeting of the Grass Roots Leadership Conference on November 10, 1963.

“God’s Judgment of White America”: presented at Manhattan Center in New York City on December 1, 1963.

“The Ballot or the Bullet”: presented in Detroit, Michigan on April 12, 1964.

“Prospects for Freedom in 1965”: presented at the Militant Labor Forum in New York on January 7, 1965.