Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the ‘I have a dream’ speech by civil rights leader Martin Luther King (August 28, 1963). a panel of more than 130 scholars got together in 1999 to rate the best speeches of the 20th century and King’s speech ranked No. 1. Dr King was assassinated 4½ years later, on April 4, 1968 .. but he did see the Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson : a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and women.