Handwritten Final Draft of MLK's Historic 'I Have a Dream' Speech to Be Auctioned Off
The document is expected to fetch over $10 million after public viewings in New York, underscoring its rarity as the only known handwritten draft.
- The only known handwritten final draft of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech will be publicly displayed for the first time later this month, then auctioned at Christie's on January 22, 2027.
- Xernona Clayton discovered the document in her late husband Edward T. Clayton's desk, where it remained untouched for decades after his 1966 death. Clayton, who worked as a public relations director at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, recently decided to auction it.
- Scholar Drew D. Hansen highlighted King's careful word choices, noting he replaced "tokenism" and "waitism" with "gradualism" when warning of the "tranquilising drug of gradualism." Hansen said the document gave him "actual chills."
- Christie's expects the sale to fetch over $10 million, with proceeds supporting the King Center in Atlanta and other philanthropic efforts chosen by Clayton. The document will travel to Chicago and New York after its Atlanta display.
- The manuscript will be displayed at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta starting November 16, followed by exhibitions in Chicago and New York before the January auction. This marks the first public viewing of the historic draft.
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53 Articles
Martin Luther King Jr.'s handwritten draft of 'I Have a Dream' speech found in desk drawer
The day Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech is forever etched in the annals of history. But the night before — when the U.S. civil rights leader stayed up alone in his hotel room scribbling his now-famous words on a yellow notepad — was a moment lost to time. Until now.
Christie’s has listed a draft of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech for auction with a $10 million estimate
The American civil rights leader wrote the seven-page draft in blue ink at Washington’s Willard Hotel the night before he spoke at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. The pages are filled with revisions and...
MLK Jr. ‘I Have a Dream’ handwritten final draft to go on display for first time in Atlanta
A handwritten final draft of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech will go on public display in Atlanta before Christie’s New York auctions it for charity.
The final manuscript of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, which culminated in the Washington March in August 1963, will be auctioned by Christie's in New York on January 22, announced the auctioneer.
Fort Smith/Fayetteville News
'A treasure of American history': Handwritten manuscript of MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech found in desk drawer
A handwritten manuscript of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech was found tucked into a desk drawer in an envelope labeled "Speech."
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