- 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.
Gary Younge is an author, broadcaster, and award-winning columnist for the Guardian, based in Chicago, Illinois. He also writes a monthly column for the Nation magazine and is the Alfred Knobler Fellow for The Nation Institute.
