Read the excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream” speech. Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. The emotional connotation of the underlined word helps King emphasize the document’s history. significance. timing. creativity.