Make an ‘I Have A Dream’ collage
You’ll need
- Copies 'I have a dream' worksheets for everyone
- Magazines, leaflets and catalogues
- Pencil
- Colouring pencils or pens
- Craft material
- Glue
- Scissors
- Laptop or devices to search for images (optional)
- Printer (optional
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
- Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
- Make sure you have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. While he lived over 60 years ago, he remains an important figure in American history. He is best known for leading the fight for equal rights for Black people in America, but he believed in doing so without violence.
He grew up in a time when Black people were treated unfairly because of racist laws. Even as a child, he experienced this unfairness. For example, when he was six, he wasn’t allowed to play with his white friend simply because of the colour of his skin and because of racist laws that kept Black and white people apart. These unfair laws made the lives of Black people difficult, since they were not able to eat in the same restaurants, ride in the same parts of buses, or even vote.
Dr. King grew up to be a very clever and determined person. He went to university when he was just 15 years old and later became a leader in the fight for equal rights for Black people in America.
He was famous for his powerful speeches, such as his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. In it he shared his dream that one day, all people would be treated equally, no matter the colour of their skin. This is his most famous speech and it was given in 1963 in Washington. He told a huge crowd about his dream that his children would grow up in a world where they would be judged by their character and not by their skin colour.
Even though Dr. King had many enemies and was sent to prison 29 times, he never gave up on his fight for equal rights. Sadly, in 1968, he was shot and killed for his beliefs. However, the fight continued after his death and the changes he hoped for one day became a reality. Today, people remember him with a holiday called Martin Luther King Day, celebrated on his birthday.
‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.’
Running this activity
- Gather everyone together and ask everyone if they’ve heard of Dr Martin Luther King Jr or the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, then let young people share what they know.
- Tell everyone that Dr Martin Luther King Jr was an African American civil rights campaigner. He lived in America over 60 years ago. He led the fight for equal rights for Black people in America. He didn’t believe in using violence to change things, and he was famous for his powerful speeches and leading peaceful protests.
- Explain that his speech, known as ‘I have a Dream’, was a famous speech he gave in Washington in 1963 to hundreds of thousands of people, with many more listening on the radio and on the TV. It was a call for equality for Black people in America. In it, he said he had a dream that life for his children could be different from how it had been for him. He spoke of his dream that his children would one day live in a nation where they wouldn't be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. People everywhere, began to share Dr. King's dream and knew that the racist laws had to change.
- You may wish to read out some of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s speech.
- Ask everyone to think about what their dreams are. You could give everyone a blank copy of the ‘I have a dream’ worksheet to help them. Ask them to write or draw at least two things for each category. It can be creative, and it doesn’t need to seem achievable just yet. It can be an aspiration. People could also write or draw onto blank paper. Try to think about the following areas:
- What I want for my future self
- What I want for my hobbies and interests
- What I want for my future job or education
- My future goals
- What I want for my friends and family
- My dream for a better world
Make the collage
- Once everyone’s written down or drawn their ideas, it’s time to make it into a collage.
- Everyone should take some thick card, then create a collage of all their ideas and goals. People could use craft materials, such as paint, wool, googly eyes, pom poms, stickers or felt. They could also use felt tips or pencil crayons.
- People could also cut out images from magazines and stick them down, print pictures out and stick to their sheet, or make a digital collage.
Reflection
In this activity, we learned about Dr Martin Luther King Jr and his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, and then everyone thought about their own hopes and dreams. Why do you think Dr King’s speech was so important? How do you think it helped? Why do you think it’s important to stand up for our rights and equality? How can we help to support people’s rights and equality? Do you think we’ve reached Dr King’s dream yet? Some ideas might be helping to learn and teach others, learning about history of people’s rights, and helping people being bullied.
Look at each of the things that you added to the vision board. Why did you add these things? Why are they important to you? What do you think you can do to achieve them? What happens if you don’t achieve them? It's okay if it doesn’t come true straight away or it’s slightly different to how you dreamed. It might take longer than you think, you might have some setbacks, or your dream might change as you get older.
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.
- Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Glue and solvents
Always supervise young people appropriately when they’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.
- To make this activity easier, you could simply ask people to make a collage about their future self without using the worksheet.
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
If you enjoyed this activity, you could also try another activity to learn about Black History
Learn about Black history super heroes, Must read books for Black History Month, The Great escape of Ellen and William Craft treasure hunt, Watch a film to celebrate Black History Month.