# Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech: What's up with the white hats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063 "2013-08-24T17:00:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/41 "2025-08-15T13:16:22Z")
Boyd went on to become a civil rights worker and educator. While working as a New York City fireman, Boyd became part of a security force tasked with protecting King as he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Boyd stood steps away from the prominent civil rights activist as he spread his message from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. > **[84-year-old Pellissippi professor retires after half-century teaching](https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2018/05/11/pellissippi-state-professor-84-robert-boyd-retiring-after-half-century-teaching/559822002/)** > > Pellissippi State professor Robert Boyd, 84, is soon retiring. Beyond his 48 years in the classroom, he has a deep history of civil rights activism. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/42 "2025-08-15T13:23:55Z")
That NYT article includes several photos showing men in similar white hats. Some say FAIR EMPLOYMENT on one side and UAW on the other, while others are blank. I think there are clearly multiple reasons why white hats are being worn. (BTW, I’d like to see a film on the trips taken by Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King, Jr to India.) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/43 "2025-08-15T13:28:22Z")
No video, but here’s a lot of photos. ETA link works, despite message, it’s a State Department article about the visit. > **[Technical Difficulties](https://spanmag.state.gov/the-indian-pilgrimage-of-martin-luther-king-jr/)** ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/44 "2025-08-15T13:43:30Z")
Thanks. I saved the article in case the current administration wipes it from the historical record. (And apparently that magazine is published by the US Embassy in New Delhi.) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/45 "2025-08-15T14:01:01Z")
I assume it will be “corrected.” ---
**Author:** ![yanniha3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f9ae1b/32.png) [@yanniha3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanniha3)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/46 "2025-08-15T14:32:14Z")
There were police there who provided security. They were all in police uniform. There is no record of firefighters involvement. Be mindful that a few months earlier they had used police dogs and fire hoses on peaceful demonstrators in Birmingham, AL. They sprayed the young demonstrators with water hoses strong enough rip the bark off of a tree. Knowing their history, many organizations agreed to provide additional security. The national mall is a national historic site so, as you may have seen to King’s left - adjusting the mic at a point -( MLK was only 5’6” ) Rangers were also on duty. The chaps in question in this thread are the uniformed gentlemen in white Baker’s hats standing behind Dr. King while he is delivering the I Have a Dream speech. They are members of the Baker’s Union. None of them were police or firemen. I briefly mention it in my book “Legacy Reloaded, A Nonviolent Awakening.” available on Amazon and at [StephonFerguson.com](http://StephonFerguson.com) I have a whole chapter on the March. I would highly recommend “Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech That Transformed a Nation” by my friend and mentor Dr. Clarence B Jones, King’s personal attorney and draft speech writer who wrote much of the I Have a Dream speech. Interestingly, the I Have a Dream portion of the speech, which is the last 5 minutes of the 17 minute speech, was not part of the manuscript. He had mentioned it in many of his speeches leading up to that August summer day in 63. His favorite Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was sitting not far from him to the left and she yelled, “Tell the about the dream King, tell them about the dream” - and you will notice at that point he looks up and never looks back down to his notes. He is reading the speech up until that point. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/47 "2025-08-15T21:36:01Z")
> [@yanniha3](#): > > There were police there who provided security. They were all in police uniform. There is no record of firefighters involvement. That is factually incorrect as demonstrated in the article that we both posted. Your confusion seems to be that these were on duty firefighters and police. They were not. They were off duty black firefighters and police from other communities who volunteered to travel to Washington, D.C. and provide security. Robert Boyd, who went on to be a civil rights activist and academic was a black New York City firefighter when he volunteered to travel to DC and provide security at the event as explained in the two articles I posted. He also states that the other security behind Dr, King were black police and firefighters who volunteered. ---
**Author:** ![yanniha3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f9ae1b/32.png) [@yanniha3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanniha3)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/48 "2025-08-15T22:37:57Z")
I never posted an article. I have no idea what article you’re talking about. That’s what I said, they were not police or firemen. They were not off duty police and firemen either. They were Bakers. There were police at the march but not behind King in white hats. The question was who are the men in the white hats behind King. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/49 "2025-08-16T00:51:05Z")
> [@yanniha3](#): > > I never posted an article. I have no idea what article you’re talking about. > > That’s what I said, they were not police or firemen. Earl and I posted articles. They were firemen and police officers. Read the article that I and Earl posted. They were not Bakers. One of the articles is an oral history of that day. In it, Robert Boyd, a NYC fireman recounts how he and other police and firefighters provided security. Read the articles. Read them, they were not bakers. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/50 "2025-08-16T01:00:41Z")
**A:** The men in the white hats were policemen and firefighters working security for the 1963 speech in Washington. They can be seen in photos standing behind Martin Luther King Jr. as he delivered his speech. > **[Q&A on the News](https://www.ajc.com/news/the-news/itGlHPETPUAzKmjRXdhLWK/)** > > Q: On almost every video of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” there are men lined up in rows to the left of center, behind him. ---
**Author:** ![yanniha3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/f9ae1b/32.png) [@yanniha3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanniha3)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/51 "2025-08-18T03:11:30Z")
The remainder of that question… “ **They have on what appear to be white robes and some sort of white hat. Who were these men? And what were their ties to MLK?”** Clearly they were not referring to the men just behind King - “to the left” - “white robes” ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/52 "2025-08-18T10:52:37Z")
There is no mention of white robes in the OP, nor in the articles I posted about Robert Boyd. This question has pretty definitively been answered that they were police and firefighters who volunteered to provide security. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/53 "2025-08-18T13:31:27Z")
And. . . what is the primary source for your assertion? It’s not corroborated by the historical record, which thus far actually contradicts it. The source book you mentioned doesn’t make the claim, and if the only other source is a book that you wrote–which also doesn’t cite a contemporary source–that sets a pretty low standard for investigative rigor. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/54 "2025-08-18T13:42:06Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > **A:** The men in the white hats were policemen and firefighters working security for the 1963 speech in Washington. They can be seen in photos standing behind Martin Luther King Jr. as he delivered his speech. > > [Q&A on the News](https://www.ajc.com/news/the-news/itGlHPETPUAzKmjRXdhLWK/) What about the men shown in white shirts and ties, or in suitcoats who are also wearing white caps, much like Gandhi caps? In other words, not the ones in robes? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/55 "2025-08-18T14:01:06Z")
##### **Robert Boyd** , 80 ###### Knoxville, Tenn. I had no idea about the march, or anything about the civil rights movement at all. Things were moving quite well for me. I had a great job as a New York City fireman, and my wife worked in a bank. I received a phone call from the Vulcans, an organization of black New York City firemen, to come to a meeting. I was hesitant and said to my wife, “I don’t want to get involved in any of this civil rights stuff.” She said, “Civil rights stuff? We have this nice apartment, you have your job, I have my job at the bank because of the civil rights stuff.” So I went. We got assigned to guard the Lincoln Memorial area. They gave us a badge, an armband and a white hat. Who the men were in the white hats is a little-known fact, even today. They were policemen and firefighters working as security people. > **[Witnesses to History, 50 Years Later](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/08/23/us/march-on-washington-anniversary-memories.html)** > > The New York Times asked readers who attended the March on Washington to recall their experiences and reflect on the legacy of that day. This is the third time this article is posted to this thread. There is no mention of robes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/56 "2025-08-18T14:06:37Z")
Upthread, roughly post 49, you linked to a Q&A from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and that mentions robes. (“They have on what appear to be white robes and some sort of white hat. Who were these men? And what were their ties to MLK?”) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/57 "2025-08-18T14:15:17Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > You can see the people and their caps in the first 30 seconds of this youtube clip of the speech (from about 0:05 to 0:35). I realize that, but the OP asked about the people wearing white caps behind Dr. King. They were apparently firefighters and police who volunteered to be security. Robert Boyd was one of them and recounted his experiences in the NY Times article. As for the people in robes, I do not know who they were (I had missed the reference to robes). I accidentally injected the robes into the discussion and they are not relevant to the OP. I suspect the answer in the AJC also missed the reference to robes. Robert Boyd was one of the people behind Dr. King in a white hat providing security and the others were also apparently police and firefighters. I see no evidence that Boyd was not telling the truth, nor do I think that he likely misremembered as he described the event as the seminal moment in his life that led him to a career in academia and civil rights. ETA: I also don’t notice anyone in a white robe in the video of the speech I’ve looked at. Some men are wearing white dress shirts, but I don’t see the robes in the AJC question. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063/58 "2025-08-18T14:23:03Z")
I think it’s _possible_ that there are multiple groups wearing white hats for different reasons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-luther-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech-whats-up-with-the-white-hats/667063.md?page=2)