Martin Luther King Jr.’s Only Known Handwritten ‘I Have a Dream’ Draft Could Top $10 Million at Christie’s

The only known handwritten final draft of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is heading to Christie’s New York, where the seven-page manuscript is expected to sell for more than $10 million. King wrote the final draft in blue ink across seven yellow legal-pad pages at approximately 4 AM on August 28, 1963, after spending hours writing and editing in his room at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. Later that day, he delivered the speech before approximately 250,000 people at the March on Washington.

Christie’s says King had been working to keep his remarks to about five minutes while carefully considering wording and flow. The handwritten pages were given to his assistants so the speech could be typed and distributed to the media before he took the stage. One of the most fascinating details is what the manuscript does not contain. The handwritten final draft does not include the words “I Have a Dream,” which King added spontaneously while delivering the speech. It does, however, contain the famous concluding passage ending with “Free at last.”

The manuscript also preserves King’s writing process through edits, changes and crossed-out passages, providing a direct look at how the speech evolved in the hours before it became one of the defining addresses of the Civil Rights Movement.

Its survival is nearly as remarkable as the document itself. The pages were preserved by Edward T. Clayton, who served as head of public relations for King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked as a speechwriter and editor for King. Clayton had helped with the speech’s composition and kept the handwritten draft among papers stored in his desk.

His wife, civil rights leader and broadcaster Xernona Clayton, first discovered the pages in the late 1990s inside an envelope labeled simply “speech.” Although she understood that the document was connected to King’s famous address, she did not know at the time that it was the only known handwritten final draft. She returned the pages to the desk, where they remained for decades.

In 2024, Clayton looked through the desk again and rediscovered the manuscript. With assistance from Christie’s and advisor Eddie Bridgeman, the pages were ultimately identified as the only known handwritten final draft of the speech.

Now the document will be shown publicly before being offered to collectors. Its first public exhibition is scheduled for November 16 through November 22 at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. Christie’s says the manuscript will later travel to Chicago, with details of that exhibition still to be announced.

The manuscript will then be displayed at Christie’s New York at 20 Rockefeller Plaza from January 15, King’s birthday, through January 21. The following day, January 22, 2027, Christie’s will offer the seven pages as a single lot in a dedicated sale titled I Have a Dream: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Draft.

Christie’s is making the formal estimate available only on request but says the manuscript is expected to generate more than $10 million. The sale will also have a charitable purpose. The document is being offered through the Still Marching Irrevocable Charitable Unitrust established by Xernona Clayton, with proceeds intended to support organizations preserving and advancing the legacies of Clayton and King. Beneficiaries include the Xernona Clayton Foundation and The King Center in Atlanta, which was founded by King’s wife, Coretta Scott King. King’s children Martin Luther King III and Bernice A. King are supporting the sale and the charitable mission connected to it. Bernice King serves as president and CEO of The King Center.

“When I first saw these pages, and realized what they were, I was astounded,” said Peter Klarnet, Christie’s manuscripts specialist. “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 making 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 honor and privilege that Christie’s has an opportunity to present it to the world.”

Christie’s will offer the manuscript in New York on January 22, 2027, following its public exhibitions in Atlanta, Chicago and New York.