A Day That Shook The World: Martin Luther King tells America 'I have a dream'

Monday 14 March 2011 17:13 GMT

(AFP/Getty)

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On 28 August 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his most famous speech for the cause of civil rights in front of 200,000 people in Washington DC.

He gave his speech before the biggest crowd the capital had ever seen, a diverse coalition of people of all races, united behind the fight to win rights for the USA's 20 million-stong black population.

The rally was an amazing success - within a year, and act of government had been passed outlawing segregation. Not all ended well though, as Dr King would be assassinated by James Earl Ray not five years later, in 1968.

Watch original footage from the rally, including Dr King's most famous sayings, in this British Pathé video, above.

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A Day That Shook The World: Martin Luther King tells America 'I have a dream'

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