CLIL History

M5 The Vietnam War and the Era of Protest The Rights of Black People On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that mobilised more than 250,000 demonstrators. On that occasion he gave an unforgettable address that is still known for the words I have a dream . It became the manifesto for the fight against racism in the US. The idea of equality as the essence of democracy was at the core of his thinking. PRIMARY SOURCE from Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream, August 29 1963: I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. [ ] We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God s children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. [...] This sweltering summer of the Negro s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality [ ] And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. March on Washington, 28 August 1963. ACTIVITY 4.E Look at the words underlined in the text I Have a Dream and match them to the Italian meanings given below. 1. torrido ... ................. 11. gradualismo ... ................. 2. rilassarsi ... ................. 12. sabbie mobili ... ................. 3. menomato ... ................. 13. sentiero radioso ... ................. 4. ombra ... ................. 14. bruciato ... ................. 5. venti anni ... ................. 15. faro ... ................. 6. luogo sacro ... ................. 16. decreto ... ................. 7. credo ... ................. 17. languente ... ................. 8. fratellanza ... ................. 18. che fa avvizzire ... ................. 9. passare alla storia ... ................. 19. manette ... ................. ... ................. 20. ignorare ... ................. 10. nel mezzo 45