10 Seemingly Insignificant Choices That Changed The World Forever

7. Martin Luther King Junior's Decision To Make The "I Have a Dream" Speech

On August 29th 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. made his fateful "I Have a Dream" speech, which remains widely recognised as a groundbreaking moment in the Civil Rights Movement as it eloquently paved the way for integrationist success. However, the original speech was meant to end before he flew into this passionate plea; he had used "I Have a Dream" many times before, and the cries of 'Tell them about your dream, Martin" by singer Mahalia Jackson led to him flying into this catchy soundbite. It's worth remembering that the "I Have a Dream" speech has been convincingly argued by a number of scholars to have been a plagiarised repetition of a speech made at the Republican National Convention in the 1950s; there are a number of uncanny resemblances in language, but given the biblical basis of preachers there is bound to be some overlap. This does not negate the skill and raw power of the speech; regardless of its source, King's small decision to continue into this somewhat improvised speech changed the course of the movement, reinvigorating it with a much needed new breath of life. Imagine how the memory of the Civil Rights Movement would look without the frozen image of King's enchanting and passionate plea to the masses for non violent integration. To ad lib 5 minutes to a speech, and make it so eloquent, is remarkable. King's small decision to add this section to his speech has engraved him into the pages of the history books, and without this speech it is arguable (although in no terms certain) that the Civil Rights Movement could have fizzled out rather rapidly.