"I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; 'and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.'"

Do you hear those words? Listen. It is a prophet writing on subway walls as a balm for a social dis-ease. It raises us up as we are naturally subtly persuaded to kneel.

Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech August 28, 1963. It is absolutely a masterpiece in American rhetoric. It is also a masterpiece in Public Relations.

Through the rhetorical device of allusion, King makes use of phrases and language from important cultural texts -- the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address the Emancipation Proclamation -- for his own purposes.

Again, think PR at its finest. Dr. King used the bad publicity that resulted from the violent reaction to his non-violent protest to affect anti-segregation demands. Dr. King then used the subsequent national focus to organize the 200,000-person march on our nation's capital. And then, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation broadly prompting the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Here is a brief one and a half minute clip. Watch it. Not just today, we in PR should watch it before we begin every day. If it doesn't directly inspire, it surely will embarrass us all into more dignified pursuits and initiatives.