I was just listening to the famous Dr. Martin Luther King speech. Would you say his dream has been completely materialized since the day he made that wonderful speech?

I believe Dr. King would be pleased with the progress but disappointed that after so long, there is still so much bigotry and racism in America.

No. Martin Luther King was not only concerned for black people and minorities, but for the impovershed as well http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_People's_Campaign The poor many times stay poor in our country, generation after geneeration; I think he would be dissappointed. In terms of race relations, his dream that people would not be judged by the color of their skin, I think he would be impressed with strides that have been made, although especially in his part of the country, the south, there is still some racism alive and well. But, actually I think the poverty is the more important piece, because I think socio-economics separates people more than race.

I wonder, had Mr. King still lived, had he asked for his dream to be analysed here on Fluther.

@JLeslie Well said.

According to the Boondocks, MLK would’ve been very disappointed.

I listened to a speech given by someone who knew Dr. King and who was active in the civil rights movement in the 60s…just heard this the other day. And the question was posed if he felt that Obama being elected the first African American president was the culmination of MLK’s dream, and his response was to look at it as a down payment.

King was as @JLeslie points out concerned about the economic injustices in society as well, and I’m guessing we’ve come somewhere in the 5 to 15 percent of the way when you look at the sum total of what he fought for. Yes, the idea that a black man had not been over the top of the mountain, but he had seen the other side and didn’t expect to get there, but did expect it was only a matter of time. That one specific thing, yes, having a black man elected to the highest office, that is indeed the attainment of climbing the mountaintop, or as some would say “breaking the glass ceiling”. But as long as there is socio-economic injustice against anyone, regardless of race, MLK’s dream is still a work in progress.

Black congressmen were called Niggers by protesters of the health care debate, so I doubt MLK would think we have reached his dream. But I honestly believe we can finally see the light of it from here.

Racism is alive and well everywhere. The South certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on it.

I think MLK would be aghast at how many kids of all races and socioeconomic levels completely waste their chance at an education and thus limit their options.

I think total racial equality will always be a “dream”—it’s an ideal, not something achievable in practice.

However, I think we’ve come much, much closer to that ideal since the 1960’s, and it’s important to acknowledge that progress when thinking about the issue of racism.

Educated people I’d say 90%. Ignorant people less than 70%.