# Only known handwritten final draft of MLK Jr’s I Have A Dream speech to be auctioned

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/only-known-handwritten-final-draft-of-mlk-jrs-i-have-a-dream-speech-to-be-auctioned/
- Published: 2026-11-09T17:13:27+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T17:48:18+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/09/mlk-dream-speech-auction
- Topics: Politics, World

## Key points

- King’s handwritten speech draft will go to auction in January.
- The sale is expected to raise more than $10m.
- The draft omits the famous phrase added during delivery.

## Summary

Martin Luther King Jr’s handwritten final draft of his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech is to be auctioned in New York in January. The sale is expected to exceed $10m, with proceeds going to several charities, including the King Center in Atlanta.

The seven-page draft, written in blue ink on yellow legal pads, was completed at Washington’s Willard hotel in the early hours of 28 August 1963. It was rediscovered in 2024 in a desk drawer belonging to former aide Edward T Clayton; the pages show King’s edits and do not include “I have a dream”, which he added while delivering the speech that day.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.