Every August 28th, the world remembers the words Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963: “I Have a Dream.” In Dublin Georgia, the story of that dream reaches back nearly two decades earlier.
Where The Dream Began
April 17th 1944, fifteen year old Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the pulpit of Dublin’s First African Baptist Church and delivered his first public speech as part of a statewide oratorical contest. It was an early glimpse of the powerful voice he would one day share with the world. He won the oratorical contest that day.
This is why Dublin is known as Where The Dream Began.
Remarkably, the place where that young voice was first heard is still standing.
First African Baptist Church was established in 1867, making it the oldest African American church in the city of Dublin. The current sanctuary was built in 1914, and the church remains an active place of worship today. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is an integral part of Dublin’s community, still filled with music, worship, and generations of stories. When the organ is played, the air swells, as it has for generations.
This is the setting for One Day: Dublin’s Civil Rights Experience, an immersive Reader’s Theatre.
Be A Part Of History
This isn’t just learning history from a textbook. Participants receive cards with short roles, hear the stories of real people and events, learn a bit of the past that may have otherwise been forgotten, and become part of the history unfolding around them.
During a Reader’s Theatre organized for the Leadership Georgia class in March 2026, participants in the group learned about the church’s historic bell that for decades had remained silent in the bell tower above the church. That discovery and a determined team helped bring renewed attention and restoration to the bell, cast in 1920, which rang again July 2026 for the first time in nearly 30 years!
The Reader’s Theatre is regularly offered in February for Black History Month, April to commemorate King’s speech in Dublin, and August celebrating the anniversary of I Have a Dream. Groups of 10 or more and school field trips don’t have to wait for those dates. Special group experiences can be arranged throughout the year. Contact us at Info@VisitDublinGA.org
Share the Experience
Georgia’s Footsteps of MLK
Make steps through the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia with Georgia Tourism’s Footsteps of MLK Trail. Announced April 9th, 2018, Georgia’s Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Trail, was created in partnership with The King Center and was launched as part of the memorial service commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death. Dublin has two stops on the trail: First African Baptist Church and Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument Park. A print version of the Footsteps Trail is available at Dublin Visitors Center, open 7-days a week.
Remember the Dream
You don’t have to just reminisce about your experience during One Day: Dublin’s Civil Rights Experience. Take a piece of the dream with you when you stop at the Dublin Visitors Center. From t-shirts and buttons to history cards so you can share the story with your friends, each item is a reminder that small voices can bring big change.
