Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone

It was this past summer when I heard about this. I was driving to work, and the local PBS station was playing "Morning Edition."

Someone had uncovered a recording of speech given by  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He gave the speech at a high school in North Carolina in November of 1962. 

You can read about the talk here, and actually listen to the carefully-restored recording of his speech.

Now, any time a recording of a such an American is uncovered, it is a true treasure. But that's not what I found most interesting.

In the speech in North Carolina, Dr. King spoke words that many of us would recognize today. Even though it is likely that none of you reading this were there.

That speech was the birth of "I have a dream," said Jason Miller, who studies King's speeches at the university. "The first time he ever used the phrase 'I have a dream' was right here in North Carolina," he said....

King's speech at the North Carolina school -- at 55 minutes -- was longer than the Lincoln Memorial address. But the refrain was very similar -- in large chunks verbatim.

Parts of the text had been moved around; local details that applied to Rocky Mount removed.

But when (someone in the audience that day) saw the Lincoln Memorial address on TV nine months later, it rang very familiar to him.

"I do think he practiced on us for his 'I have a dream' speech," he said.

It can be tempting to look at the lions of history and believe that they were destined for greatness. It seems that success in their endeavors was unavoidable. 

The uncovering of that speech given in North Carolina should give us all some heart. 

Even the great ones worked hard to hone their craft.