Explore August 28, 1963 with Online Newspapers
Published on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 9:50pm
Hurricane Irene may delay the opening ceremonies of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall, but you can still explore the history of the 1963 march on Washington and the famous "I have a dream" speech in the comfort of your own home using the library's subscription to historic black newspapers.
You'll have to type in your library bar code number to access the content. You will then have access to newspaper accounts from the time, including an early version of Dr. King's speech that was printed in the Chicago Defender on August 31 instead of the speech that was ultimately delivered by Dr. King.
Why is this earlier version significant? The earlier version did not include the words "I have a dream" at all. You can explore this and other news articles by going to our Black Studies Online Research page and clicking on Historic Black Newspapers.