Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech Draft To Be Auctioned For $10 Million

A piece of history could soon command millions at auction.

The only known handwritten final draft of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech is heading to Christie’s auction house in New York next year, with expectations that the historic seven-page manuscript could sell for more than $10 million.

Written in blue ink on yellow legal pad paper, the document captures King’s final edits before he delivered the landmark address during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963. The manuscript includes revisions and crossed-out passages, offering a rare glimpse into the civil rights leader’s preparation for one of the most important speeches in American history. Notably, King’s famous “I Have a Dream” line does not appear in the handwritten draft, however. He added that portion spontaneously while delivering the speech, responding to the audience and an encouragement from gospel legend Mahalia Jackson.

“When I first saw these pages, and realized what they were, I was astounded,” said Peter Klarnet, Christie’s manuscripts specialist, in a press release. “This is a treasure of American history. It gives you chills to look at it,” he continued. “It captures a moment that literally changed the course of our nation and makes it very real and very human. It’s an honor and privilege that Christie’s has an opportunity to present it to the world.”

Xernona Clayton, a 96-year-old pioneering broadcaster and civil rights activist, discovered the draft in the late 1990s inside the desk drawer of her late husband, Edward T. Clayton, one of King’s longtime aides and speechwriters. She later rediscovered the manuscript in 2024. After keeping the document out of public view for decades, Clayton decided it was time to share it.

“Now that I’m older, I’m wiser, and it just seems like something that important ought to be shared,” Clayton told CBC Radio-Canada.

The sale will benefit several charitable organizations, including Atlanta’s King Center and the Xernona Clayton Foundation. The auction is being conducted through the Still Marching Irrevocable Charitable Unitrust, which Clayton established to distribute proceeds to charitable causes.

Before the auction, the manuscript will be displayed at Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights in mid-November. It will also travel to Chicago before arriving at Christie’s New York exhibition space, where it will be available for public viewing Jan. 15-21, 2027.