英语三分钟演讲素材（通用15篇）
we've gone from losing 9 million jobs during the financial crisis to creating 10 million jobs. we've reduced the unemployment rate from 10% in october of to 6.1% today. and for the first time since the 1990s, american manufacturing is steadily5 adding jobs-over 700,000 since . and surveys of both american and foreign business leaders confirm that america once again is viewed as the best place in the world to build and invest.
that's all good news.
but an awful lot of middle class americans are still not feeling the effects of this recovery. since the year , gross domestic product-our gdp - has risen by 25%. and productivity in america is up by 30%. but middle class wages during that same time period have gone up by only fourteen cents.
folks, it's long past time to cut the middle class back into the deal, so they can benefit from the economic growth they helped create. folks, there used to be a bargain in this country supported by democrats6 and republicans, business and labor7. the bargain was simple. if an employee contributed to the growth and profitability of the company, they got to share in the profits and the benefits as well. that's what built the middle class. it's time to restore the bargain, to deal the middle class back in. because, folks, when the middle class does well, everybody does well-the wealthy get wealthier and the poor have a way up.
you know, the middle class is not a number. it's a value set. it means being able to own your home; raise your children in a safe neighborhood; send them to a good school where if they do well they can qualify to go to college and if they get accepted you'd be able to find a way to be able to send them to college. and in the meantime, if your parents need help, being able to take care of them, and hope to put aside enough money so that your children will not have to take care of you.
that's the american dream. that's what this country was built on. and that's what we'redetermined8 to restore.
in order to do that, it's time to have a fair tax structure, one that values paychecks as much as unearned income and inherited wealth, to take some of the burden off of the middle class. it's time to close tax loopholes so we can reduce the deficit9, and invest in rebuilding america - our bridges, our ports, our highways, rails, providing good jobs.
with corporate10 profits at near record highs, we should encourage corporations to invest more in research and development and the salaries of their employees. it's time for us to invest in educational opportunity to guarantee that we have the most highly skilledworkforce11 in the world, for 6 out of every 10 jobs in the near term is going to require some education beyond high school. folks, it's long past due to increase the minimum wage that will lift millions of hardworking families out of poverty target poverty and in the process produce a ripple12 effect that boosts wages for the middle class and spurs economic growth for the united states of america. economists13 acknowledge that if we do these and other things, wages will go up and we'll increase the gross domestic product of the united states.
my fellow americans, we know how to do this. we've done it before. it's the way we used to do business and we can do it that way again. all the middle class in this country want is a chance. no guarantee, just a chance.
americans want to work. and when given a fair shot, the american worker has never, ever, ever, let his country down. folks, it's never a good bet to bet against the american people.
thanks for listening.
The tempo of modern civilization has been much quickened in the last twenty years. While witnessing the dramatic changes in the better-off society, people begin to reconsider the question of "survival". "Survival" in the old sense does not bother us anymore. Instead, we are more concerned about how to "survive" in the human world full of competition.
Competition always carries abreast challenges and opportunities to everyone involved. It might appear in an entrance exam, in a regular class, or in a small public speech. Those who fail to detect its real nature-whether an opportunity or a challenge a competition really is- will lose something more or less conducive to our growth. Of course, if we take the competition as an opportunity, we will favor it intentionally because they can help us outstand from the average; they will make us become the focus of public attention; they will grant us more chances and rights to succeed. As a matter of fact, opportunities are supposed to be more perceptible and welcoming than challenges. The truth is, however, we will lose more opportunities when we choose to take the "opportunity" fork at the crossroads. The other fork, ignored by us and defined as "fearful challenges", offers much more chances for the walker in competition.
We have such an inclination in life to overestimate ourselves and hold a thoughtless attitude towards the negative outlook of things.
We believe in the old saying, "Opportunity knocks but just once," so we always welcome it and devote all our spirit and efforts to it. The most devout believer of this saying are the graduates. Why? There are quite a number of them who pay full attention to positions in big cities and are willing to flood into developed areas under any circumstances, even though there will be too much uncertainty for their choices. Innumerable cases go straight to the same miserable end: God seems to refuse to help too many of His worshipers.
In conclusion, to define the quality of competition seems to be far from valuable sense, for no matter what a competition is, an opportunity or a challenge, it will create nutritious elements for our growth.
So take a positive look at everything around. Keep our face to the sunshine, and we will not see the shadows.
In front of challenge there are 5 players.
The first player creates opportunity.
The second one attempts opportunity.
The third waits for an opportunity coming, sitting there and crossing his fingers.:)
How about the next one, the fourth player? He just simply misses the opportunity.
Worse ever, the last contender ignores an opportunity under his eyes.
If we don't have guts to be the first player, at least, we can push out well-prepared to grasp any possible opportunity as does the second player.
We've all been taught that we should help people. It is the right thing to do and will make us popular with others. It may even win us favors in return. However, we must be realistic. We can't say yes to every request. If we did, we would fail or go crazy for sure. Sometimes we simply don't have the time to help. In this case, we must know how to say no politely.
When we need to say no, here is one method we can try. First, we should tell the truth. If we really can't do something, we should just say so. Second, we should remember to refuse requests politely. We must communicate clearly, but must also be sincere and sympathetic. A true friend will understand. Finally, we must not feel guilty about saying no. Sometimes refusing others is the right thing to do. It can save ourselves, and them, a lot of trouble. In short, we cannot please everyone all the time. Refusing favors is a part of life.
我们都被教导，我们应该帮助人们。它是正确的事情，会使我们受别人欢迎。它甚至可能会赢得我们的回报。然而，我们必须是现实的。我们不能对每一个要求说“是”。如果我们做了，我们会失败或疯狂的肯定。有时我们只是没有时间去帮助。在这种情况下，我们必须知道如何礼貌地说。
当我们需要说不，这里有一个方法，我们可以尝试。首先，我们应该讲真话。如果我们真的不能做某事，我们应该这样说。第二，我们应该礼貌地拒绝请求。我们必须清晰地沟通，但也必须真诚和同情。一个真正的朋友会理解。最后，我们不应该为说“不”而感到内疚，有时拒绝别人是正确的事。它可以拯救我们自己，和他们，很多麻烦。总之，我们不能取悦所有的人。拒绝恩惠是生活的一部分。
good morning, ladies and gentlemen. i’d like to share my teaching dream with you. but before that, i want to say something about the beginning of this dream. in march this year, three teachers from australia came to our school. during the meeting, we exchanged a lot about education. i found that though we have almost the same teaching philosophy, we have different routines. what impressed me most was that their schools end at 3:00 in the afternoon and have no night classes. i can’t tell which kind of routine is better, but the sharp contrast made me think about a better education. the following is a dreamy school in my mind, in which there is no pressure but pleasure.
today, as people live a better life, they chase for more enjoyment. we can see from the news that when the holiday comes, there are so many people gather in the scenery site. people like to travel today, they can take a plane, take the bus or even take a bike. on my opinion, the best way to travel is by train. first, it is very cheap. compare with other ways, such as plane and bus, train is less expensive, people can save a lot of money. besides, taking the train is much safer. people don’t have to worry about crush, which is more happen in the plane or bus. second, we can enjoy the scenery in the train. though the train is very slow, we can have a good sight of the beautiful scenery, when we go to tibet, we can see different colors and different mountains during the trip. taking the train is the best way to travel.
For a little peace and tranquility in the financial zone that is Lujiazui, take some time off to smell the roses in an unlikely setting.
Just by the looming Oriental Pearl TV Tower behemoth is a newly-installed park complete with artificial waterways and resident geese. If this sounds cheesy, rest assured, it's not.
To complete the other-worldliness of this verdant garden, a few classical European-style villas are being built within the compound. One already-completed building houses the perfect representation of this safe haven within the business district. The Golden Atrium Garden Restaurant is quite unlike anything one has come to expect from the city's freshly-flush property developers. The villa is tasteful, inviting and homely - a far cry from some of the hideous monstrosities that have spawned from the ground below in recent times.
In fact, the building looks like it belongs in a painting, a fact not lost on the establishment's proprietors. "We were looking to find a special peaceful place in Pudong," said Phylia Wang, co-founder of Golden Atrium. "This place, with the Pearl Tower in the background, is quite unique."
The restaurant owners were interested in a few key factors. Firstly, the surroundings had to be pleasant. That they certainly are. Despite the premises being located deep within the park, prominent signs on the main road point diners in the right direction.
Secondly, the interior had to be done to their satisfaction. "We didn't want it to look like it was done for the nouveau riche," the Chinese Taiwan resident said. "That meant no gaudy ornaments or glaring chandeliers."
The restaurant is wonderfully understated. The interior, which received the bulk of the US$1 million investment, would not disagree with minor European aristocracy. Simple, elegant furniture and quality finishing prove this to be money well spent, and not squandered on ostentatious ornamentation.
The art theme, which is the third leg of the owners' strategy, is central to the overall strategy. Wang, who is in the IT business, is also a massive art buff. Her refined manner of dress reveals her gentile manner; she is clearly a lady of exquisite taste. As such, her selection of the art work that hangs in the 140-seater continues her theme of simplicity wonderfully.
The top floor of the three-story building is a dedicated event space, with works on display by one-man-shows that rotate every few months. Until December 16, local artist Xu Wenhua's piece de resistance can be appreciated. The floor can hold about 90 people, and is perfect for basic events, business conferences or for wine tastings.
All this is jolly and good, but the basis of any restaurant is its food. Here, the Chinese Taiwanese chef delivers fare that is as grand as the building itself.
For 380 yuan (US$48) diners can tuck into a set menu offering braised shark's fin, deep-fried prawns with salt and pepper, and roasted pigeon. The bird is served slightly smoked, crisping the skin and impacting flavor without sacrificing juiciness and succulence. To finish the meal, vegetables and fried rice are served, followed by dessert.
Golden Atrium also offers set lunch menus starting at 98 yuan. Diners can choose a dim sum set or a typical Cantonese lunch of sweet and sour pork, kung pow chicken or beef stew, with vegetables and fried rice.
The restaurant takes itself seriously, but not too much so, which is a refreshing change. Almost as refreshing as the park itself.
Address: 36 Dongyuan Road
Tel: 021-5888-9525
Strong earthquake hits China
A powerful earthquake measuring 7.8 has hit China's southern province of Sichuan, shaking buildings as far away as Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties or damage from the tremor which the the US Geological Survey (UGS) earlier put at 7.8.
The epicentre of the quake was 93 kilometres north of Chengdu.
Wenchuan, which took full force of the quake, has a population of 111,000 people.
It is in an ethnic Tibetan area in Aba county which recently saw violent clashes between Tibetans and Chinese authorities.
According to some reports there was a second earthquake measuring 3.9 which hit the Beijing district of Tongzhou at roughly the same time.
Telephone lines in the affected area are jammed and there are still no reports of casualties.
Reports from Thailand say high buildings in Bangkok continued to shake several minutes after the tremors began.
"We felt continuous shaking for about two or three minutes. All the people in our office are rushing downstairs. We're still feeling slight tremblings," said an office worker in Chengdu.
China's tallest building, the Jinmao Tower, and other highrise buildings in Shanghai's financial district were evacuated after tremors were first felt.
"People were shouting 'get out, get out', so we all ran out of our dorm," said a student surnamed Zhang at a university in nearby Chongqing.
A spokesman for the China Earthquake Administration said it was still checking the epicentre and scale of the tremor.
five score years ago, a great american, in whose symbolic shadow we stand 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 captivity.
but one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the negro is still 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 languishing in the corners of american society and finds himself an exile in his own land. so we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
in a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the constitution and the declaration of independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every american was to fall heir. this note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
it is obvious today that america has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. instead of honoring this sacred obligation, america has given the negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." but we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. we refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
so we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
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 rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of god's children. now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
"who can so properly be the inquisitors for the nation as the representatives of the nation themselves?" "the subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men."¹ and that's what we're talking about. in other words, [the jurisdiction comes] from the abuse or violation of some public trust.
it is wrong, i suggest, it is a misreading of the constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the president should be removed from office. the constitution doesn't say that. the powers relating to impeachment are an essential check in the hands of the body of the legislature against and upon the encroachments of the executive. the division between the two branches of the legislature, the house and the senate, assigning to the one the right to accuse and to the other the right to judge, the framers of this constitution were very astute. they did not make the accusers and the judgers -- and the judges the same person.
we know the nature of impeachment. we've been talking about it awhile now. it is chiefly designed for the president and his high ministers to somehow be called into account. it is designed to "bridle" the executive if he engages in excesses. "it is designed as a method of national inquest into the conduct of public men."² the framers confided in the congress the power if need be, to remove the president in order to strike a delicate balance between a president swollen with power and grown tyrannical, and preservation of the independence of the executive.
the nature of impeachment: a narrowly channeled exception to the separation-of-powers maxim. the federal convention of 1787 said that. it limited impeachment to high crimes and misdemeanors and discounted and opposed the term "maladministration." "it is to be used only for great misdemeanors," so it was said in the north carolina ratification convention. and in the virginia ratification convention: "we do not trust our liberty to a particular branch. we need one branch to check the other."
"no one need be afraid" -- the north carolina ratification convention -- "no one need be afraid that officers who commit oppression will pass with immunity." "prosecutions of impeachments will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community," said hamilton in the federalist papers, number 65. "we divide into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused."³ i do not mean political parties in that sense.
dragon boat festival
the dragon boat festival, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, has had ahistory of more than 2,000 years. it is usually in june in the gregoriancalendar.
there are many legends about the evolution of the festival, the mostpopular of which is in commemoration of qu yuan (340-278 bc). qu yuan wasminister of the state of chu and one of china‘s earliest poets. in face of greatpressure from the powerful qin state, he advocated enriching the country andstrengthening its military forces so as to fight against the qin. however, hewas opposed by aristocrats headed by zi lan, and later deposed and exiled byking huai. in his exiled days, he still cared much for his country and peopleand composed immortal poems including l
i sao (the lament), tian wen (heavenlyquestions) and jiu ge (nine songs), which ha
d far-reaching influences. in 278 bc, he heard the news that qin troops hadfinally conquered chu‘s capital, so he finished his last piece huai sha(empacing sand) and plunged himself into the miluo river, clasping his arms toa large stone. the day happened to be the 5th of the 5th month in the chineselunar calendar. after his death, the people of chu crowded to the bank of theriver to pay their respects to him. the fishermen sailed their boats up and downthe river to look for his body. people threw into the water zongzi(pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves) andeggs to divert possible fish or shrimp from attacking his body. an old doctorpoured a jug of reaglar wine (chinese liquor seasoned with realgar) into thewater, hoping to turn all aquatic beasts drunk. that‘s why people later followedthe customs such as dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wineon that day.
dragon boat racing is an indispensable part of the festival, held all overthe country. as the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon-shaped canoespulling the oars harmoniously and hurriedly, accompanied by rapid drums,speeding toward their destination. folk tales say the game originates from theactivities of seeking qu yuan‘s body, but experts, after painstaking andmeticulous research, conclude that dragon boat racing is a semi-religious,semi-entertaining program from the warring states period (475-221 bc). in thefollowing thousands of years, the game spread to japan, vietnam and britain aswell as china‘s Chinese Taiwan and hong kong. now dragon boat racing has developed intoan aquatic sports item which features both chinese tradition and modern sportingspirit. in 1980, it was listed into the state sports competition programs andhas since been held every year. the award is called "qu yuan cup."
zongzi is an essential food of the dragon boat festival. it is said thatpeople ate them in the spring and autumn period (770--476 bc). in early times,it was only glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed or other plant leaves andtied with colored thread, but now the fillings are more diversified, includingjujube and bean paste, fresh meat, and ham and egg yolk. if time permits, peoplewill soak glutinous rice, wash reed leaves and wrap up zongzi themselves.otherwise, they will go to shops to buy whatever stuff they want. the customof eating zongzi is now popularin north and south korea, japan and southeast asian nations.
on dragon boat festival, parents also need to dress their children up witha perfume pouch. they first sew little bags with colorful silk cloth, then fillthe bags with perfumes or herbal medicines, and finally string them with silkthreads. the perfume pouch will be hung around the neck or tied to the front ofa garment as an ornament. they are said to be able to ward off evil.
dear all,
experience makes you succeedi still remembered the first time when i becamea technical secondary school teacher of english literature. it seemed that ithappened yesterday.
at that day, i got quite ready and i had the confidence to be a goodteacher. i arrived at the classroom, eager to share my knowledge and experiencewith all the students of my class. having prepared for two days, i had no doubtto hold their attention and to impress on them my admiration for theliterature.
“stand up!” the monitor spoke loudly. the entire class stood up as ientered the classroom. i was a little puzzled, but quickly that awkwardness wasover, i regained my calmness and began my well-prepared lecture, sure to gaintheir respect--- or even their admiration. ‘i’m your english, miss jiang. todaywe are going to learn . . . ’ i was very pleased with work . as the bell rang, iwent back to my office full of a sense of achievement. the following day when iread my students’ diaries, the rosy glow was gradually replaced by a strongsense of sadness. the first diary said, “our literature teacher didn’t teach usanything today. perhaps her next lecture would be better.” greatly surprised, iread diary after diary, each expressed a similar theme. “didn’t i teach themanything? i described the entire framework and laid the background for thepassage we would study in class,” i puzzled. “how should they say i taught themnothing?”
it was a long term, and it gradually became clear that my ideas abouteducation weren’t the same as those of my students. i thought a teacher’s jobwas to raise interesting questions and provide enough background so thatstudents could draw their own conclusions. my students thought a teacher’s jobwas to provide exact information as directly and clearly as possible. what adifference! i tell myself i can handle it.’ compared to what others have beenthrough , i’m fortunate. thinking of these sentences i felt something importantstruck me. i believe my life would not be that bad and it was proved to be true.later during my life and work i always told myself ‘i can handle it.’ when myown goals seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming. and everytime i said it, i always came back to my senses.
now the experience with my students has made me learn a lot, and made me bea better english teacher.
the following year, it was september 10th. i went to class as well. when istepped into the class, i felt surprised. there was a post card on the table,but i didn’t show it on my face. i began teaching lessons. after the class, iwalked out of the class with a card in my hand. i opened the card in the office,it was a music card with words on it. it said ‘many thanks to you, miss jiang.we all love you we like your teaching.’ i was impressed by the words. how honestand simple the words were. hot tears couldn’t help dropping. at that time, i wasso proud of being an english teacher.
so here, coming to us are words that can give us strength. whatever you’regoing through, tell yourself you can handle it. tell this to yourself over andover, and it will help you get through the rough spots with little morefortitude.
我的家
I have a wonderful family.I'm lucky to be a part of it.Let me tell you about them. My family name is Lee.My family history is long and proud.There are five people in my family now. My parents love me very much.They do a lot for me.When I need help, they are always there.
My dad is a strong guy.He's honest and hardworking.He's like a superhero to me. My mom is a smart woman.She can do almost anything.I just can't praise her enough. I have two siblings.They are my older brother and younger sister.Sometimes we argue,but we mainly get along.
My family likes being together.We like eating out and going to the movies.We also enjoy hiking and having picnics. My family isn't perfect.We have our ups and downs.But we always forgive and make up. Our motto is “United together forever.” I'll always cherish my family.I hope your family is lovely,too.
good moring everyone ,today i will tell you my dream keeped in my heart .
the ideal is dream , it is power that people move forward to. each people have their different ideams. i have my own ideam .
when i was childen i like to look fairy tale ,so every day i looked lots of fairy tale books , sometimes mom told me beautiful fairy tales, wonderful legends . every time , i na-iv-ely looked at sparked stars in the sky , i thought : when i grow up would like to be a writer and write many articles let people read and appreciate .
everyone has a dream. i often ask myself. when i was a little boy, i wanted to be a soldier with a gun so that i could defend our motherland.now i am a young boy with a new dream——to be a doctor. i want to be a famous doctor, helping the sick and saving their lives.
i also saw some people who were suffering and dying of ill-nesses. i made up my mind to become a doctor, so that i can help the sick people and cure them of their diseases. china is a develop-ing country. she needs good medicine and good doctors, especially in the countryside and lonely villages.
as time goes slowly, this beautiful but na-iv-e ideal is permanently impressed in my mind, it deeply hide in my heart and become a kind of power urge me forward. with the passage of time , i have slowly come to understand a reason , it is not easy to be writers , it needs to experience many twists and turns on the road , need to suffer numerous wind and rain blow . but i will not back down and fear , i would like to insist, i firmly believe that if you insist on you will achieve victory.
thanks my beloved teacher ,thanks every classmates .
you have spent so much time with other people, you have spent so much time trying to get people to like you, you know other people more than you know yourself. you’ve studied them, you know about them, you want to hang out with them, you want to be just like them. you’ve invested so much time on them, you don’t know who you are. i challenge you to spend time by yourself.
it’s necessary, that you get the losers out of your life, if you want to live your dream. but people who are running towards their dreams, life has a special kind of meaning. when you become the ‘right-person’, what you do is you start separating yourself from other people you begin to have a certain uniqueness, as long as you follow other people, as long as you are being a ‘copy-cat’, you will never ever be the best copy-cat in the world but you will be the best you can be!
i challenge you to define your value.
everybody won’t see it, everybody won’t join you, everybody won’t have the vision…it’s necessary to know that you are an uncommon breed. it’s necessary that you align yourself with people and attract people into your business, who are hungry, people who are unstoppable and unreasonable, people who are refusing to live life just as it is and who want more!the people that are living their dreams are parting with winners, to attach themselves to the and the people who are living their dreams are the people that know that if it’s going to happen it’s up to them!
if you want to be more successful, if you want to have and do stuff you never done before then i’m asking you to invest in you!
someones opinion of you does not have to become your reality.
you don’t have to go through life being a victim. and even though you face disappointments, you have to know within yourself that ‘i can do this, even if no one else sees it for me, i must see it for myself!’
no matter how bad it is, how hard it gets, say to yourself, i’m going to make it!i wanna represent an idea. i wanna represent possibilities. some of you right now, you wanna go to the next level. you wanna be a civil engineer, you wanna council, you wanna be a doctor.listen to me: you can’t get to that level. you can’t get to that level until you start to invest in your mind
it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the negro. this sweltering summer of the negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. there will be neither rest nor tranquility in america until the negro is granted his citizenship rights. the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
but there is something that i must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
the marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
we cannot walk alone.and as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. we cannot turn back. there are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "when will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. we cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. we can never be satisfied as long as a negro in mississippi cannot vote and a negro in new york believes he has nothing for which to vote. no, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
it is obvious today that america has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. instead of honoring this sacred obligation, america has given the negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." but we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. we refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.
so we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
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 rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of god's children. now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the negro. this sweltering summer of the negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. there will be neither rest nor tranquility in america until the negro is granted his citizenship rights. the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
but there is something that i must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.