What was the date of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech?

Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963. The speech was delivered as part of the March on Washington, an organized effort by civil rights groups to promote legislation intended to end racial segregation.

The "I Have a Dream" speech is considered by many historians to be one of the most important speeches in American history. Some commentators have compared it to President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The King speech called on America to end its mistreatment of citizens of color and galvanized more than 200,000 supporters and spectators gathered near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.