ECONOMIC LESSON FROM MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DREAM SPEECH

Though we commonly refer to it as the "Dream" speech, Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic address was really a combination of several speeches that Dr. King had been delivering during the tumultuous years of 1962 and 1963 as the civil rights movement was in full swing in America. Dr. King delivered the speech on Aug. 28, 1963, from the Lincoln Memorial, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was an homage to President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and was also timed to pay tribute to the centennial anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Most people remember these thunderous and passionate lines from the speech: "…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...I have a dream today!"

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The notion of the government writing a bad check was nothing new in America. Alexander Hamilton and many other founders of the American republic used similar metaphors to describe our profligacy throughout history. Given the magnitude of the U.S. deficit, we are arguably writing bad checks every day as a nation.5 However, Dr. King was not addressing the nation’s debt in that context at all.

Income Inequality

King’s point was that the economic system America had grown into had left African Americans and poor people behind entirely. Sadly, income inequality has only become worse in the U.S. and around the world in the past 60 years. Wealth is concentrated in a very narrow percentile.67 Many people in the world live on meager wages. For those fortunate enough to have stable jobs, wage growth has barely budged—relative to inflation—in 50 years.

The notion of the government writing a bad check was nothing new in America. Alexander Hamilton and many other founders of the American republic used similar metaphors to describe our profligacy throughout history. Given the magnitude of the U.S. deficit, we are arguably writing bad checks every day as a nation.5 However, Dr. King was not addressing the nation’s debt in that context at all.

Income Inequality King’s point was that the economic system America had grown into had left African Americans and poor people behind entirely. Sadly, income inequality has only become worse in the U.S. and around the world in the past 60 years. Wealth is concentrated in a very narrow percentile.67 Many people in the world live on meager wages. For those fortunate enough to have stable jobs, wage growth has barely budged—relative to inflation—in 50 years.

...We have come a long way in our understanding of human motivation and of the blind operation of our economic system. Now we realize that dislocations in the market operation of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination thrust people into idleness and bind them in constant or frequent unemployment against their will. The poor are less often dismissed from our conscience today by being branded as inferior and incompetent. We also know that no matter how dynamically the economy develops and expands, it does not eliminate all poverty."?

What Was the Message Behind the 'I Have a Dream' Speech?

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Dream” speech was a call for equality. It identified the faults of America and what measures were needed to make it a better place. A central theme throughout the speech was the importance of everyone being treated equally.?

What Is the Economic Metaphor Dr. King Uses Throughout the 'I Have a Dream' Speech?

Dr. King often used metaphors in his speeches. In his “Dream” speech, he used the metaphor of a bad check to illustrate the inequality and economic injustice that many faced.

What Is the Economic Metaphor Dr. King Uses Throughout the 'I Have a Dream' Speech?

Dr. King often used metaphors in his speeches. In his “Dream” speech, he used the metaphor of a bad check to illustrate the inequality and economic injustice that many faced.

The Bottom Line

The above examples were not the only times King addressed economic issues in writing or in a speech. On April 3, 1968, the?night before he was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., he delivered a speech at Mason Temple in support of striking sanitation workers. It’s worth a read. Though some may not agree with his ideas or the principles behind the civil rights movement, his impact is undeniable. Dr. King was able to connect the rights of all people in America to the economic system and the injustices it manifests through his essays, speeches, and teachings in ways that profoundly changed the moral consciousness of this country.