How to Cite “I Have a Dream” Speech

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One of the most iconic and prolific speeches ever delivered in US history is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, Dr. King spoke in front of a quarter of a million people during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In a speech that lasted  17 minutes, Dr. King shared his vision and desire for equal civil rights for African Americans.

Quickly cite a speech using our online form here.

Millions of websites display a full transcript of Dr. King’s speech, and YouTube views also rack up into the millions. With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day upon us, it’s possible your teacher or professor asked you to use Dr. King’s famous speech in your work. If you’re unsure how to cite Dr. King’s speech, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Included on this page are instructions to cite Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in MLA 9 format, APA 7 format, and Chicago format.

To cite a transcript of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech found online, you’ll need the following pieces of information:

  • Speaker’s first and last name
  • Speech title
  • Website title (if applicable)
  • Website’s publisher (if different from the website’s title)
  • Publication date (for a speech transcript)
  • Date the speech was delivered
  • URL of the website where the speech’s transcript or recording was found
  • Event where the speech was delivered
  • Location of the event

Remember, citations help readers find the exact source used. While there are numerous transcripts of Dr. King’s speech available online, your goal is to help the reader easily understand and locate the same exact source you used for your project. Why? This speech could appear in different formats on various sites.

Structure to cite “I Have a Dream” speech in MLA 9:

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Speech Title.” Event/Forum Name, Date, Location, City Name.

King, Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream.” March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Aug. 28, 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC.

Structure to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in MLA 9:

Speaker’s Last name, First name. “Title of Speech Transcript.” Website Name, Publisher of the Website (only include if it’s different than the name of the website), Speech Date, URL (remove https:// or https://). Transcript.

You’ll notice elements of an MLA website citation, but with additional information on the speaker.

Here’s an example of how to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in MLA 9:

King, Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr; August 28, 1963.” The Avalon Project, Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library, 2008, www.avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp. Transcript.

Here’s how the above example would be cited in an in-text citation in MLA 9:

(Speaker’s Last Name)

(King)

Structure to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in APA 7:

Speaker Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Date of Speech). Title of speech [Speech transcript]. Website Name. URL

Here’s an example of how to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in APA citation format:

King, M.L., Jr. (1963, August 28). I have a dream [Speech transcript]. The Avalon Project. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp

Here’s an example of how to cite a speech in an in-text citation in APA 7:

Parenthetical: (Last Name, Year)

(King, 1963)

Narrative: Last Name (Year)

King (1963)

Structure to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” found online in the Note-Bibliography format of Chicago Style (17th ed):

Note

  1. Speaker’s First Name Last Name, “Title of Speech,” Date of speech, Location of speech, Medium, information on where to find the transcript: Website Name, Website Publisher’s Name, URL.

Bibliography

Speaker Last Name, First Name. “Title of Speech.” Date of Speech. Location of Speech. Medium. Information on where to find the transcript: Website Name, Website Publisher’s Name, URL.

Here’s an example of how to cite a transcript of “I Have a Dream” in Chicago’s note-bibliography style:

Note

  1. Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” August 28, 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, Transcript, The Avalon Project, Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp.

Bibliography

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “I Have a Dream.” August 28, 1963. Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, Transcript. The Avalon Project, Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp.

 

Trying to cite Dr. King’s speech from a YouTube or Vimeo video? Maybe you need a parenthetical citation definition? Or maybe you are trying to learn the basics. For all of the above, try our citation tools at easybib.com.

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How do I cite a recorded speech?

To cite a recorded speech in APA and MLA styles, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the speaker, title of the speech, date the speech was given/published, the website where the speech was accessed, and the URL. Templates and examples for how to cite a recorded speech in APA and MLA styles are included below.

APA reference list entry

Template: 

Speaker’s Surname, F. M. (Date speech was given). Title of the speech [Description]. Publisher of recording. URL

Example:

Roosevelt, F. D. (1933, March 12). First fireside chat [Speech audio recording]. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstfiresidechat.html

MLA works cited list entry

Template: 

Speaker’s Surname, First Name. “Title of the Speech/Recording.” Year speech was given (if different than recording). Website Hosting Recorded Speech, uploaded by Account Name (if applicable), date recording was published, URL.

Example:

Roosevelt, Franklin D. “First Fireside Chat.” 1933. American Rhetoric, 26 Feb. 2017, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstfiresidechat.html.

How do I cite a famous speech?

To cite a famous speech in APA and MLA styles, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the speaker, title of the speech, date the speech was given, website where the speech was accessed, and the URL. Templates and examples for how to cite a famous speech in APA and MLA styles are included below.

APA reference list entry

Template: 

Speaker’s Surname, F. M. (Date speech was given). Title of the speech [Description]. Website Where Speech Was Accessed. URL

Example:

Long, H. P. (1934, February 23). Every man a king — Radio speech to the nation [Transcript]. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hueyplongking.htm

MLA works cited list entry

Template: 

Speaker’s Surname, First Name. “Title of the Speech.” Year speech was given. Website Where Speech Was Accessed, date webpage was published, URL. Transcript (if applicable).

Example:

Long, Huey P. “Every Man a King — Radio Speech To The Nation.” 1934. American Rhetoric, 26 Feb. 2017, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/hueyplongking.htm. Transcript.