A handwritten seven-page draft of Martin Luther King Jr’s iconic 1963 speech is going under the hammer at Christie’s New York in January 2027. Preserved for decades by his aide, Edward T. Clayton, the manuscript is the only known handwritten final draft and retains King’s edits and corrections. It is expected to fetch more than $10 million, with the proceeds benefiting several charities, including the Xernona Clayton Foundation and The King Center. The manuscript will be publicly displayed at Christie’s New York, at 20 Rockefeller Plaza, from Dr King’s birthday on 15 January to 21 January, before being offered in a single-lot sale on 22 January 2027.
At about 4 am on 28 August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr was still awake in his room at the Willard Hotel in Washington. He had been fine-tuning his speech to fit it into five minutes. By the time he finished, he had filled seven yellow legal pages with blue ink. Later that morning, his assistants would type them up for reporters. That afternoon, King would stand in front of 250,000 people and say something no one in the crowd had planned. Known as the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, it is regarded as the most important speech of the 20th century and one of the most significant speeches in American history. For decades, the pages remained out of view. No one knew where they were. They were eventually found among the belongings of Edward T. Clayton, who headed public relations for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and helped shape the speech with him. His wife, Xernona Clayton, first came across the draft in the late 1990s. It was in an envelope marked ‘speech’, tucked into a desk that held many of her husband’s papers. She returned it to the drawer, unaware of how rare it was. In 2024, she looked again. That was when she realised it was the only known handwritten final draft of the speech. Her adviser, Eddie Bridgeman, and Christie’s recognised that it was truly rare. Interestingly, the draft does not contain the iconic words ‘I have a dream’. Those were added spontaneously as King delivered the speech. However, the manuscript does include its powerful conclusion: ‘Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, we are free at last.’
“I’m just glad I looked in the drawer,” Xernona Clayton said, adding that she was proud that her husband had worked with Dr King on speeches. “The two of them gelled with writing and words. They would go back and forth and there was such respect. Dr King, who was a great thinker, said Ed was so good at getting his words on paper and putting them in the right place at the right time. I enjoyed watching them. I was privileged, and now the world will have the opportunity to see those words of wisdom that continue to inspire hope, freedom and the pursuit of equality.”
Peter Klarnet, Christie’s manuscripts specialist, was thrilled to see the pages. “When I first saw these pages and realised what they were, I was astounded,” he said. “This is a treasure of American history. It gives you chills to look at it. Reading along, you’re there in the moment with Dr King, watching him compose it and make edits in real time. It captures a moment that literally changed the course of our nation and makes it very real and very human. It’s an honour and privilege that Christie’s has the opportunity to present it to the world.”
Ms Clayton called it a gift. “I am so grateful for the opportunity to give this amazing speech new life, and to give new life to people who are in need. And we cannot wait to give that first gift.”
Martin Luther King III, Dr King’s son, also reflected on the rare find. “It is poetic that the past will protect the future. We are grateful that this treasure was preserved over decades by the Clayton family. It is a remarkable piece of history that shines a light on our father’s process as he prepared to make a speech that so profoundly affected the course of the civil rights movement and our nation. Now, for the first time, the public will have the opportunity to be inspired by this document.”
Dr Bernice A. King, Dr King’s daughter, added: “We are also grateful to join with Ms Clayton to ensure that the sale of this draft helps support the great work of The King Center and our mother, Mrs Coretta Scott King, who would have been 100 this coming year. As President and CEO of The King Center, I am honoured to continue our parents’ legacy and lead the work of this important institution, which our mother founded in 1968 to advance our father’s work and teachings. Through his non-violent philosophy and methodology, we equip individuals and institutions with the competencies to navigate conflict, bridge differences and confront injustice constructively, carrying forward the transformative, and still necessary, work our parents began.”
The auction house estimates that the manuscript could fetch more than $10 million. It will be publicly displayed for the first time at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta from 16 to 22 November. It will then be showcased in Chicago and later in New York before the auction.
