On July 6th, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. presented a speech to the General Synod of the United Church of Christ in Chicago. It was in this speech that he made his first written and recorded utterance of what would become a phrase closely associated with the Civil Rights movement, “We Shall Overcome”. This speech contains 20 pages of typed material, with handwritten notes interspersed throughout. The final page of this incredible and moving speech is almost entirely handwritten by Dr. King. At the very end of this page, written in unassuming black pen, is the phrase “We shall overcome”. This speech is an incredible piece of history from one of America’s greatest and most revered citizens and is worthy of a place in the Smithsonian.

     The historical significance of this speech where Dr. King makes his first public declaration of “We Shall Overcome” cannot be overstated. The course of American history during the turbulent decade of the 1960s was changed by Dr. King and ultimately cost him his life, but not his legacy. Original speeches of Martin Luther King have been appraised in the millions and the owner of the “I Have A Dream” speech has turned down $5 million dollars for it. This document provides one-of-a-kind insight into the process of how Dr. King created his great orations that fundamentally changed the core of America. This item comes with a full LOA from PSA/DNA , Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication, and a full LOA from JSA (Z46103).