Deconstructing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Dream : Code Switch : NPR

Deconstructing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Dream : Code Switch : NPR: "We want all of our rights!" Martin Luther King, Jr. told a throng of people gathered in and around Detroit's Cobo Arena on June 23, 1963. He was speaking at what he called the largest and greatest demonstration for freedom ever held in the United States. "We want them here, and we want them now!" he said.

Fifty years ago this August, King gave the iconic "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington. But the first time King spoke of his dream of equality and brotherhood between the races, was earlier that summer in Detroit .

Parts of King's Detroit speech may sound familiar to those who have heard the address he gave at the March on Washington. But the Detroit speech was tailored especially for a city with a long history of Civil Rights activism.

"I have a dream this afternoon, that one day, right here in Detroit," King said, "Negroes will be able to buy a house or rent a house anywhere that their money will carry them, and they will be able to get a job."

Organizers of "The Walk to Freedom" wanted to speak out against the brutality that Civil Rights activists faced in the South. They also wanted to address the inequities in jobs, housing and education faced by blacks in the North. King's speech dealt with it all.