29 1 Leading and following is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. […] I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. […] I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. The ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” preliminary – bráðabirgða prosperity – velgengni to languish – hnigna a condition – hér: ástand unmindful – ómeðvitaður trials – prófraunir tribulations – þjáningar a quest – leit persecution – ofsóknir staggered – slegin redemptive – fyrirgefandi aspirations – hér: metnaður to achieve – ná creed – sannfæring self-evident – augljóst In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all slaves “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, was passed in 1865. However, it would still take many years until black Americans were given the same rights as white Americans.
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