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Lesson Three - I Have a Dream

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Course: English Lang Arts 10-1
Book: Lesson Three - I Have a Dream
Printed by: Guest user
Date: Monday, 8 September 2025, 4:14 PM

Table of contents

Introduction

Lesson Three - I Have a Dream
Duration - 2 blocks (2 x 80 min + homework)

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Racial Discrimination in the United StatesDr. Martin Luther King

Despite efforts to end racial discrimination after the American Civil War, discriminatory practices such as racially segregated public facilities persisted in some parts of the United States, especially the South, through the first half of the twentieth century. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, lawyers for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) brought several important cases before the American Supreme Court, and these efforts culminated in the Court's 1954 decision that racially segregated schools were unconstitutional. This landmark decision inspired a grass-roots movement that began with the Montgomery, Alabama, public bus boycott and grew into the civil rights movement. The movement soon found a charismatic leader in the person of an eloquent young Baptist preacher named Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King delivered his dramatic speech on August 28, 1963. It was the keynote speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to about 250 000 people. The speech was broadcast on television and published in newspapers, cementing King's position as the leader of the American civil rights movement. This speech has become one of the most famous public addresses of the twentieth century. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his philosophy of non-violent political resistance. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Lesson

Read through the PDF documents on the Resources page.

Listen to and watch to Dr. King's speech, "I Have a Dream", linked on the Resources page.

Explore the websites, linked on the Resources page.

Assignment

ASSIGNMENT TWO of TWO (50 marks)

Open a new Word or PowerPoint document. Label it E101U4L3surname 
In this document, answer the questions outlined below.
Submit this assignment using the Dropbox for U4L3 dream

The answers to the following questions are found in the posted documents and websites. 
Your answers must be phrased in YOUR OWN WORDS - do not copy and paste.

  1. What role did Abraham Lincoln play in freeing African-Americans from slavery? (1)
  2. In a paragraph, explain the "Black Codes". When were they created? What was their purpose? When were they abolished? (5)
  3. In a paragraph, explain the "Jim Crow" laws. For whom were they named? For what years were these laws in effect? What was their purpose? (5)
  4. List five of the "Jim Crow" laws. (5)
  5. Explain the rationale behind the Ku Klux Klan in a paragraph. What did this group believe? What was its "mission"? (5)
  6. What role did Dr. Martin Luther King play in the Civil Right Movement? (2)
  7. What role did Mrs. Rosa Parks play in the Civil Right Movement? (2)
  8. Who were the Little Rock Nine? In a paragraph, explain what happened in Arkansas. (5)
  9. Write a detailed paragraph, describing what life was like for African-Americans for much of the 20th century, particularly in the Deep South of the United States. (10)
  10. In light of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, how much of Dr. King's "dream has been realized? Explain fully in a detailed paragraph, using current examples. (10)

Conclusion

"If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive." - Martin Luther King Jr., on learning of threats on his life, St Augustine, Florida, June 5, 1964