Handwritten draft of Martin Luther King Jr speech to be auctioned
The seven-page manuscript of the 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech could fetch more than $10 million at Christie's New York.
A handwritten seven-page draft of Martin Luther King Jr’s 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech will be auctioned at Christie’s New York in January 2027, according to the Times of India. The manuscript, which is the only known handwritten final draft, is expected to fetch more than $10 million.
The document was preserved for decades by Edward T. Clayton, an aide who headed public relations for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His wife, Xernona Clayton, discovered the draft in a desk drawer in the late 1990s, though she only realised its rarity in 2024.
The draft was written at approximately 4 am on 28 August 1963 at the Willard Hotel in Washington. While the manuscript includes the conclusion, 'Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, we are free at last', it does not contain the phrase 'I have a dream', which King added spontaneously during the speech.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit several charities, including the Xernona Clayton Foundation and The King Center. Martin Luther King III, the son of Dr King, said the document shines a light on his father's process during the civil rights movement.
The manuscript will be publicly displayed at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta from 16 to 22 November. It will also be showcased in Chicago and New York before the single-lot sale on 22 January 2027.