Handwritten Draft of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech Goes to Auction
Christie's, the auction house with salesrooms in New York, will sell the only known handwritten manuscript of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. ARTnews reported that the sale is set for January 22, 2027.
The manuscript is seven yellow pages of King's handwriting, with edits and cross-outs. It does not contain the words "I have a dream," because King improvised that part when he delivered the speech at the 1963 March on Washington. It does include the closing line: "Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, we are free at last."
The pages were found in a desk drawer belonging to Edward T. Clayton, head of public relations for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the civil rights group King led. Xernona Clayton found the manuscript in the late 1990s. In 2024 she brought it to Christie's, working with an adviser, Eddie Bridgeman.
Christie's expects the manuscript to sell for more than US$10 million. The auction house has not published a price range for the lot. It says it will give an estimate, the auctioneer's expected sale range, to people who ask for one.
The sale is a single-lot sale, which means the manuscript will be sold alone, not in a group with other items. Proceeds will go to charities including the Xernona Clayton Foundation and the King Center in Atlanta, the institution set up to preserve King's legacy.
Before the auction, the manuscript will be on view at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta from November 16 to 22. It will then be shown at Christie's New York from January 15 to 21, 2027, a week before the sale.
For people who want to see the pages in person, the Atlanta display comes first. The New York showing gives a second chance before bidding closes in January.
