HarperOne to Publish 60th Anniversary Edition of 'I Have a Dream' Speech

HarperOne will publish a special edition of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream tied to the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, where King first delivered the speech. The book will include forewords and an afterword by his three surviving children: Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Dr. Bernice King.

“As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, and the inspiring dream my father shared on that day, we are called, not only to commemorate his vision, but also to correct the festering injustices of poverty, racism and violence with action,” writes Martin Luther King III.

Bernice King added: “Did we compromise and diminish the dream to accommodate a more convenient King? If we are to authentically and with integrity remember and contemplate my father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, we must thoughtfully answer this question. On the 60th anniversary of the speech, I beckon us to examine how a speech about a revolutionary dream, that was necessitated by the scourges of racism and poverty, is frequently relegated to an emphasis on its triumphant ending without an exploration of its demand for justice.”

In 2021, HarperCollins became the official publisher of King's archives. Forthcoming books from HarperCollins include Beyond Vietnam, I’ve Been to The Mountaintop, and Our God Is Marching On, coming this fall; a special new edition of I Have a Dream will also be published each year.