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| Civil Rights Primary Source Speeches |
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| Date of Speech | Civil Right activist giving the speech | Context for the speech |
| 1962 |
Malcolm X
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This speech, given at the funeral for Ronald Stokes in Los Angeles, May 20, 1962 was in response to the following incident. April 27, 1962: An altercation leads to police entering the Los Angeles Temple and killing its unarmed secretary, Ronald Stokes. "They're going to pay for it," Malcolm declares, and goes to Los Angeles to eulogize Stokes at a funeral attended by 2,000 people. He says the police shot "innocent unarmed Black men in cold blood" and urges action. But Elijah Muhammad leader of the Nation of Islam resists calls for an aggressive response. An all-white coroner's jury deliberates about Stokes' killing for 23 minutes and terms it "justifiable homicide." By contrast, 14 Nation of Islam members are indicted for assault in the incident and 11 are found guilty. Photo citation: Malcolm X. Photographer. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. |
| 1963 |
John Lewis
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This speech was given at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963. Civil rights leaders including John Lewis organized the march to protest racial discrimination and to show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress. Lewis, was the youngest person to speak at the Lincoln Memorial and though still in his early 20s, had already become such a prominent figure that he was considered one of the civil rights movement’s “Big Six” leaders, along with King, James Farmer, A. Phillip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young. More information about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom can be found here.
Photo citation: John Lewis, Civil Rights Leader and Politician. Photograph. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 19 Jan 2021. |
| 1963 |
Daisy Bates
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This speech was given at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963. Civil rights leaders organized the march to protest racial discrimination and to show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress. Daisy Bates is the only woman who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington during the official program. Bates delivered the “Tribute to Negro Women Fighters for Freedom” in the place of Myrlie Evers, who was unable to attend the March. More information about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom can be found here.
Photo citation: Daisy Bates (1914-1999). - American civil rights activist.. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. |
| 1963 |
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Who is Martin Luther King, Jr.? Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963. Civil rights leaders organized the march to protest racial discrimination and to show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress. More information about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom can be found here.
Photo citation: Martin Luther King, Jr. - (1929-1968). American cleric and civil rights leader. Delivering his celebrated 'I Have a Dream' speech at the March on Washington, 28 August 1963.. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. |
| 1964 |
Fannie Lou Hamer
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The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee formed the MFDP to expand black voter registration and challenge the legitimacy of the state's all-white Democratic Party. MFDP members arrived at the 1964 Democratic National Convention intent on unseating the official Mississippi delegation or, failing that, getting seated with them. On August 22, 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer testified before the convention's credentials committee and told her story about trying to register to vote in Mississippi. Threatened by the MFDP's presence at the convention, President Lyndon Johnson quickly preempted Hamer's televised testimony with an impromptu press conference. But later that night, Hamer's story was broadcast on all the major networks. Photo citation: Fannie Lou Hamer(1917-1977). - American civil rights activist. Speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 1964.. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.
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| 1966 |
Stokely Carmichael
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How should we remember Stokely Carmichael? PBS Newshour interview with Gwen Ifil and Peniel Joseph - author of a biography about Stokely Carmichael. In 1966 and 1967, Carmichael toured college campuses giving increasingly belligerent speeches. He coauthored a radical manifesto titled Black Power, in which he argued that civil rights groups had lost their appeal to increasingly militant young blacks. The movement's voice, he wrote, had been hopelessly softened for "an audience of middle class whites. This speech given at the University of Berkeley in 1966 was presented to a mostly white audience. For more information about this speech and the full transcript, click here. Photo citation: Stokely Carmichael. Photographer. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. |
