R. Micha'el Rosenberg on MLK Day: A Mighty Stream

Ta Shma · Jan 20, 2025 · 7m

One of the most memorable and impactful lines of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” is his invocation of the prophet Amos (5:24): “…No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Dr. King introduces the words of the prophet to close a section with the repeated refrain “We cannot be satisfied.” Each repetition of the phrase describes a different oppression that Black Americans face, reaching its climax with Dr. King’s charge that protest against injustice cannot rest until…