Etched on our souls, the words of leaders issue a call to those who hear—or those who read decades later—to act. When someone stands in front of a crowd and declares their dreams, their hopes, or their beliefs, it can reframe the way we see the world. But to truly reshape the way we think about something like power, you need to have some pretty impactful words at key moments in history. Many of us only remember these speeches for a line or two. “I have a dream,” or “Tear down this wall” shook whole generations, and carved themselves into our collective consciousness, but these speeches were so much more, and we’re the better off for it. So, take a look at these historical speeches that defined how we think about power today.
#1: Martin Luther King Jr. – “I Have a Dream” (1963)
“I Have a Dream” was delivered to over 250,000 people in 1963 and became the defining voice of the civil rights movement, demanding racial equality and justice in the U.S. The most famous part of the speech was improvised, sparked by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouting from behind him, “Tell ’em about the dream, Martin!” Ranked the greatest American speech of the 20th century, it placed King alongside Jefferson and Lincoln in shaping American ideals of freedom and power through words.
