The Dream, 50 Years Later

Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the 1963 March on Washington. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On a late August day in 1963, an estimated 200,000 came from all over to gather at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after marching to support the equal rights that had been denied African Americans for so long.  There were many speeches and songs that day, but we remember it half a century later because of a man who said he had a dream.  A dream that one day America would be free from divisiveness, hatred and injustice.

At this point the civil rights movement, led by this man with a dream, was midway between sit-ins at whites-only lunch counters and troops being sent to enforce Federal school desegregation laws in the American South to President Lyndon Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  After that, things went sour.  There was rioting in major cities.  Some African Americans did not think change had come quickly enough.  And the man with the dream paid the price on a Memphis hotel balcony.

So what has become of the dream this man spoke about 50 years ago?  As we have said countless times before, most of it came true, but there's still a lot of work left.  It's even possible that we're backsliding.

Beyond athletes and entertainers, there is a lot more opportunity for African Americans to succeed than there was 50 years ago.  While we thankfully don't hear much any more about the First Black This-or-That, it's no longer a surprise to see some that have climbed the corporate ladder or the annals of political power.  Need we mention that there is now a President of the United States who is African American?  What would the man who said he had a dream have thought of that?

Divisiveness and injustice?  Sure, there's still plenty of that.  The Supreme Court gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act, because they thought there was no longer a need for certain states to be held to a higher standard when it came to allowing African Americans to vote.  This includes the many states that now require voters to provide a picture ID at the polls, which is a big problem for those whose records were lost or destroyed.

African Americans, statistically speaking, are more likely to be unemployed, prison-bound and dead of gun violence than whites.  They're also more likely to be stopped by police for some dubious traffic violation.

There may be no Jim Crow laws, separate facilities or demonstrators attacked by fire hoses and snarling dogs.  But discrimination for African Americans still exists at more subtler levels, and will continue to be that way as long as people keep electing politicians who go against their interests.

By 2063, the 100th anniversary of the March on Washington, America will become a country where the majority population are minorities.  Will we be any closer to fulfilling the man's dream he spoke of a century earlier?  Or will it be a case of the more things change, the more things remain the same?