This August travellers from around the world and across the United States will flock to Washington, DC to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, one of the most poignant events of the last century. The world watched through black and white TV as King gave his speech on the steps of DC’s Lincoln Memorial to over 250,000 Civil Rights supporters on 28 August 1963, the same day as the Great March on Washington.

The speech, which changed the fate of African Americans in the United States forever, will be celebrated across DC this August with special events, exhibits, marches, trails, and ceremonies including a special performance in honour of King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

On the anniversary of the speech citizens and travellers from across the country will also take part in a number of marches around the capital to commemorate the speech and The Great March on Washington, one of the largest rallies in the history of the United States which called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. For more information about the march, please visit: www.50thanniversarymarchonwashington.com.

A new exhibition entitled One Life: Martin Luther King Jr will also open at the National Portrait Gallery on 28 June 2013 (until June 2014) to commemorate the speech and King’s incredible legacy. This exceptional and moving exhibition depicts the life of King and his rise to prominence as a Civil Rights leader and anti-war activist through historic artifacts, photographs, prints, paintings and memorabilia including the program from the Great March of Washington and  the Time magazine cover featuring King as ‘Man of the Year’.

Travellers to Washington, DC wanting to explore more of King’s great legacy and the history of Civil Rights in the United States should take one of two trails through the capital: the day-long Major Civil Rights Sites trail which visits locations such as the Lincoln Memorialand the African American Civil War Memorial, or DC’s five-day-long Civil War to Civil Rights trail which takes a more detailed look at the fight for Civil Rights in the US, visiting additional sites including the imposing Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the National Archives.

Other important sites associated with King, the Civil War and Civil Rights open to travellers across DC include Frederick Douglass House, the residence of the former statesman who advised President Abraham Lincoln on matters related to African American slavery, and the Emancipation statue which depicts Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation while freeing a slave. Travellers can also visit the Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue which was named in honor of King, the Supreme Courtknown as the site of many key legislative milestones in the fight for Civil Rights, The Willard InterContinental Hotelwhere King put the finishing touches to his infamous speech, and Madame Tussauds Washington DCwhere travellers can pose with life-like wax statues of King and Lincoln.

To find out more about Washington, DC and the Capital Region USA, visit www.CapitalRegionUSA.co.uk

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