SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY

We Are The Dream is a dramatization of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and the Civil Rights struggle that surrounded it. It is a story about an important chapter in American History and is meant for performers and audiences of every background and age.

The play begins with the gentle, lyrical song My Lord, What a Morning. Grownup Julia speaks to the audience recounting a memory from her childhood...

It is March of the year 1968. Young Julia bounds on stage, leading her classmates in a race to school. When the teacher enters the children quiet down. Mrs. Williams tells them that today they will learn about dreams and the children tell her their good and bad dreams. Mrs. Williams writes on the chalkboard: I Have a Dream. “Who can tell us who said these words?” she asks.

The children have all heard of Martin Luther King, Jr., the man who is trying to end segregation. It is painful but the children are able to say what the big word means to them. James says, “It’s when you’re treated not equal.” Mrs. Williams tells them that Dr. King is due to visit their schools soon. The children are excited and begin to draw pictures of their dreams and to recount the story of his life.

Martin is six years old when his life story begins. When a friend’s mother tells him that he and Billy cannot play together anymore, Martin runs to his mother’s arms asking why? Alberta Luther tells him the difficult truth – that his people came to America as slaves. She explains that Lincoln freed them but their lives were still hard and other whites continue to discriminate against African Americans. Later, Martin’s father tries to buy him a pair of shoes but is humiliated when he is asked to sit in the back of the store. These strong memories help Martin develop his resolve to make a change in the world.

When Martin graduates from school he meets Coretta Scott, a sharply dressed student at Boston Conservatory. Though she loves Martin, she hesitates to marry him because he wants to return to the South to begin his life of good works. “Someone has to lift our people up!” he tells her. At last Coretta agrees and Martin becomes a preacher at a small church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Before 1955 in Alabama, black customers were expected to sit in the back of any city bus and to give up their own seat for any white person who wanted to sit down.

One day a seamstress, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. A policeman arrested her. Her arrest was announced on TV and Martin and his friends realized they had a chance to let everyone know how unfairly blacks were treated in the South.

In the play, Young Julia watches TV with her parents. Her Mother and Father represent the debate African Americans had amongst themselves. Was it better to stand and fight? Or should they stay quiet for the sake of the children? Martin understood their fear and their desire for freedom and was able to put it into words. He makes a speech on TV that shows everyone how
they feel and at the same time makes him famous for heading the fledgling Civil Rights Movement.

In Montgomery blacks refuse to ride the buses until the unfair seating rule is changed. It is a proud time for all of them and, though it is exhausting, they walk to and from work every day for almost a year. Angry whites torment Martin and his young family but Martin resolves to dedicate himself to nonviolence, meaning he refuses to hurt any other man no matter what they do to him. This idea is difficult for some African Americans to accept and even Martin’s father questions its wisdom.

At last the Supreme Court rules that Montgomery’s segregation laws are unconstitutional. It is a great victory but the battle has just begun. African Americans stage sit-ins, meaning they sit down in places like lunch counters where blacks are not allowed. Children march in Birmingham and are treated savagely by the police. Julia’s Mother and Father argue about the safety of the children. People all over the United States are beginning to understand and sympathize with the Civil Rights struggle.

Martin and Coretta continue to lead the protesters as they try to enroll in an all-white college or gather peacefully in church. He leads the people on many marches until the greatest nonviolent demonstration of all time, the Freedom March on Washington DC where Martin delivers his famous and powerful speech. “I have a dream,” he says, “that my four little children will one day
live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The choir and audience sing Free at Last.

Grownup Julia speaks again of her recollection of a day in 1968. The children have gathered to meet Dr. King and show him the pictures of their dreams. One child wants to be a doctor, another a ballerina. But Mrs. Williams has some bad news. Martin Luther King Jr. has passed away.

Julia is heartbroken but others comfort her, reminding her that children not only have dreams but that they are Martin’s dream. Young Julia says, “In my picture all the little children are holding hands. Just like Martin said they would.” Though Dr. King’s dream still requires strength and resolve, the performers and audience join hands and say together, “We are the dream,” and sing, We Shall Overcome.