Original Martin Luther King Jr. 'I Have a Dream' Draft Heads to Auction for $10 Million
An original draft of Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech will soon be up for auction. Read on for where the draft was found and how much this important piece of paper is expected to fetch.
Draft of Original MLK Speech Going Up for Auction
A handwritten draft of the most famous speeches in American history will be put up for auction in January. An original draft of King's historic 1963 speech that he gave on the National Mall was found in a former aide's desk drawer. The New York Times reported that the seven-page draft was found in the desk drawer of Edward T. Clayton.
The draft was written by King on yellow paper. The paper includes visible corrections that were sent to the typist. Clayton's widow, Xernona Clayton, has given permission for the draft to be auctioned by Christie's. Experts believe that the draft will sell for about $10 million. The New York Times said that the proceeds will be donated to the King Center and various charities designated by Xernona Clayton.
Xernona Clayton worked alongside her husband and King to desegregate hospitals throughout Atlanta in the 1960s. She went on to become one of the first Black talk show hosts in the country in the 1970s. The civil rights activist was also instrumental in establishing Atlanta's International Civil Rights Walk of Fame and in the founding of the Trumpet Awards. Xernona Clayton offered the document to Christie's auction house via the Still Marching Irrevocable Charitable Unitrust.
“We are also grateful to join with Ms. Clayton to ensure that the sale of this draft helps support the great work of The King Center and our mother, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, who would be 100 this upcoming year,” said Dr. Bernice King, King’s daughter and the CEO of The King Center.
Peter Klarnet, Christie’s manuscript specialist, told the media, “I can’t imagine anything better," adding, "This is the most important manuscript I’ve ever had the honor to handle.”
Christie's shared a photo of the manuscript, detailing King's cursive handwriting in blue ink. Several lines were crossed out and rewritten, showing where King made edits to what went on to become the defining speech of the civil rights movement.
Those close to the late activist and his foundation were stunned by the discovery. “When they called me, I was almost in disbelief,” said Lerone A. Martin, the director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford and the senior editor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project. He went on to say that, “It’s almost like it gives us a chance to get between King’s ears, to get in his mind.”
The public is being invited to see the manuscript in person before it goes up for auction. You can see the document on display at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta from November 16 to November 22. The manuscript will then be available to see in Chicago at a later date before being handed over to Christie's.
About the Famous Speech
Dr. King delivered his famous speech on August 28, 1963, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The speech was part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, distinguished as the largest demonstration for civil and human rights in U.S. history at the time. Over 250,000 gathered in the nation's capital to support the movement.
King's speech served as a major turning point in the U.S. Civil Rights movement. It was just one year later that Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in large part due to the political momentum that was built that day.
Most Americans know the speech by the famous line, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
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