A dream restored

YOU KNOW MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S “I HAVE A DREAM” speech. Or at least you think you know it—you’ve read about it in textbooks, or heard politicians quote from it, or seen clips in classrooms or museums.

But chances are, you haven’t heard the full 17-minute address from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and what you have heard failed to capture what made it the one of the most famous speeches in history. Even if you wanted to, despite its renown, it’s surprisingly hard to find. Online clips are removed swiftly, and those that evade detection crackle with white noise.

But this month, there will be a new way to hear the speech. TIME is releasing a virtual reality experience that takes participants back to that day in August 1963. The experience uses original audio, available in rare fidelity thanks to an unlikely source: Motown Records. In its recording, King’s clarion voice carries without the distracting echo picked up by inferior attempts to capture it. Spectators on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial chime in audibly as King proceeds through his remarks, making listeners feel as if they’re 10 ft. from the podium. Crucially, the recording, which is also slated for rerelease for audiences today, challenges long-held notions about that day—and its story reveals King’s struggles over how best to