1/10/2016
Never before heard recording of MLK's 'I Have A Dream' speech in North Carolina revealed | abc11.com
NEVER BEFORE HEARD RECORDING OF
MLK'S 'I HAVE A DREAM' SPEECH IN
NORTH CAROLINA REVEALED
King first delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at a high school gymnasium in
Rocky Mount
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015
RALEIGH (WTVD) ­­ It had been rumored for decades that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. first
gave his "I Have A Dream" speech in North Carolina months before the iconic delivery during
a march on Washington D.C. 52 years ago.
On Tuesday, it was made official with a never before heard electronically­restored recording
of the original speech that was unveiled at North Carolina State University's Centennial
Campus.
Click here to listen to part of the Rocky Mount speech played Tuesday
http://abc11.com/news/dr­kings­i­have­a­dream­speech­first­given­in­nc­/921154/
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1/10/2016
Never before heard recording of MLK's 'I Have A Dream' speech in North Carolina revealed | abc11.com
Dr. King first delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at a high school gymnasium in
Rocky Mount on Nov. 27, 1962 ­ nine months prior to his historic August 28, 1963 speech.
The words were slightly different, but the meaning was the same:
"I have a dream tonight. One day my little daughter and my two sons will grow up in world not
conscious of the color of their skin but only conscious of the fact that they are members of the
human race. I have a dream tonight," he said.
For years, historians knew that the civil rights leader first gave the speech in North Carolina,
but no one had ever actually heard documented evidence of the Rocky Mount version, or
known that legendary poet Langston Hughes actually inspired it, until the recording found in a
Rocky Mount library was revealed.
Click here to listen to another portion of the Rocky Mount speech
NC State Professor of English W. Jason Miller, author of the new book "Origins of the Dream:
Hughes' Poetry and King's Rhetoric", and co­producer of a documentary called "Origin of the
Dream" about the intellectual relationship between Dr. King and Hughes, explained that after
extensive research the tape recording was discovered in an unmarked box and restored.
"It's a 1.5mm acetate reel­to­reel tape that was sitting there not being played and nobody
knew the contents of it," he said.
http://abc11.com/news/dr­kings­i­have­a­dream­speech­first­given­in­nc­/921154/
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1/10/2016
Never before heard recording of MLK's 'I Have A Dream' speech in North Carolina revealed | abc11.com
Herbert Tillman, who was a senior at the Rocky Mount high school where the speech was given, shared what it was like
to hear Dr. King speak.
Herbert Tillman, who was a senior at the Rocky Mount high school where the speech was
given, was present during the address and shared what it was like to have Dr. King visit the
town during that era.
"I was all into it, all eyes, all ears, and I just felt so uplifted," he recalled.
Eight months later, Tillman watched King's historic address at the Lincoln monument.
"After listening to it and seeing it on the news, and I come back and say, 'Hey, you know, that
was kind of similar,'" he said.
http://abc11.com/news/dr­kings­i­have­a­dream­speech­first­given­in­nc­/921154/
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