You are definitely referring to Martin Luther King's speech in August of 1963 in Washington D.C. The event was called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and has since been shortened to the March on Washington and the famous "I Have a Dream Speech." King was a very emotional and eloquent speaker and his speech moved the nation to action.
King opens the speech by referencing the Emancipation Proclamation and how the promise of freedom in that document has not been met. He points out that the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence have been empty promises to African-Americans. King utilizes symbolism when referencing these documents as promissory notes or checks. The government has defaulted on these promises and King urges the crowd that the promise of freedom must be answered without further delay.
Despite the urgency of his plea, King cautions against violence and anger in achieving these rights. He goes on to list certain grievances like police brutality, segregation, and the lack of voting rights or political voice that have hampered black America. King offers a tone of reconciliation with white America and reminds that crowd that many whites have participated in the civil rights struggles. King ends his speech with the famous "I Have a Dream" portion that everybody is now familiar with.
**The Million Man March was an event in Washington, D.C. that occurred in 1995 and again in 2015. A link that discusses those events is listed below.
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