A fascinating find from the library at Rocky Mount and electronically restored by North Carolina State University:
Dr. [Martin Luther] King first delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at a high school gymnasium in Rocky Mount on Nov. 27, 1962 – nine months prior to his historic August 28, 1963 speech.
The words were slightly different, but the meaning was the same:
“I have a dream tonight. One day my little daughter and my two sons will grow up in world not conscious of the color of their skin but only conscious of the fact that they are members of the human race. I have a dream tonight,” he said.