Has Martin Luther King's Dream Come True?
BBC News
August 22, 2003
FORTY YEARS AGO, on 28 August 1963, Martin Luther King made his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. Standing on the steps of Washington's Lincoln Memorial, Dr King spoke of his desire to live in a world free of racism.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by their character."
However, the issues of racism and discrimination are as much in the news today as they were 40 years ago.
Is Martin Luther King's dream any closer to becoming reality? Were you at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, or did you hear the speech later? What was its impact?
The following comments reflect the balance of comments we have received:
- I turn on the TV I see black shows, actors, commercials... I watch the News I see black officials. I'd say yes his dream has come true to a large extent. The racism you all are talking about, everyone is suffering from. Hey how would you like to be a "Seyed Mohammad Saeed"? I bet you can't even buy an airplane ticket! You want be arrested in the middle of a shopping centre? Start speaking Arabic. Come on folks discrimination against black people is fading away. Now it is time to discriminate against middle eastern. And guess what? They don't even have a MLK, because they don't live in America. Where they live they get killed before they even attempt to make a speech.
Sami, USA
- When visiting Tulsa, Oklahoma, I happened upon a bar full of black people. This surprised me initially as I'd seen few black faces in Tulsa up until then. I was welcome to drink in the bar (the only white face in there) and without intimidation. When I asked someone inside why all the other bars I'd been in (even in the same area) were full of white people only and then there was this bar - suggesting a policy of segregation. I was told that black people in Tulsa did not feel comfortable in the presence of whites, because they were regularly victims of physical and verbal abuse in such instances. This is an example of how, although enforced segregation is illegal within the US, that doesn't mean that it isn't still happening.
Jan Beardall, UK
- So far it seems that we're only focusing on those of African decent. Dr. King's speech applied to ALL races. African-American (African), Hispanic, Asian, Native American and yes, Caucasian. I think we're starting to get the idea, and we're on the way to fulfilling his dream, but we won't get there until everyone's skin colour is forgotten altogether.
Christine, USA
- Martin Luther King is surely one of the great leaders of our time. Sadly there are not many people 'big' enough to do justice to 'I have a dream' or 'Ich bin ein Berliner' or even 'Never in the field...' All these people were great, they made the speeches great, not the other way round.
Simon Mallett, UK
- Today is the first time I have read Dr King's speech, and I can only shake my head and ask why are such good men always shot down. I pray his dream will come to be one day soon.
Margaret, UK
- Sadly, Dr. King's notorious "dream" remains just that, a dream. As a Caucasian woman married to an African, I have seen first hand the subtle injustices and disturbing discriminatory attitudes and policies directed against the black man. All you have to do is read a report here and there about a modern day lynching of a black man by white supremists or about a high school that, until recently, held segregated proms to prevent its white student population from becoming tainted, or from mixing, with the culture of the black students. Unfortunately, it is largely the color of a man's skin which determines his value and potential for success in American society. I suspect this attitude is present elsewhere, as well, but it is a pervasive force in a white hegemonic culture such as ours. Racism might have gone underground but it is still alive in the land of the free and is often masked by so-called "political correctness." I, too, have a dream that one day biracial children, like my beautiful daughter, will become the majority, a branch on every family tree in America. Until that day, I fear there will still be intolerance and prejudice towards people of color the world over.
Amy, USA
- I was not alive in 1963, but judging by the success of men like Colin Powell and women like Condoleezza Rice, it seems that Dr. King's dream is much closer to reality than it has been in the past. If only all disaffected and disenfranchised people could see the wisdom of passive resistance, perhaps regions like the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Ulster, and countless other places could achieve just and equitable settlements. Violent demonstrations bring nothing but the promise of violent reprisals. True martyrs suffer with dignity and do not blow themselves up along with scores of innocent civilians.
Pete Comas, USA
- Martin Luther King's dream has come true to some extent but there is still a great deal to be achieved. Racism and injustice towards ethnic minorities still exists and not just in the US. It is a problem all around the world. We have started on the path towards his dream but there is still a long way to go.
Tryphena, UK
- Nearly! Segregation and racism was outlawed in 1976 - over the next 20 years we have become a more tolerable society - treating people as personalities and not by the colour of their skin. However today we have the opposite happening in places of divide such as Wrexham and Burnley and now we must learn to embrace and live in peace!
Allan Dade, UK
- By and large, Dr. King's dream has come to fruition. Progress on the racial front has been nothing short of spectacular since his speech, despite rhetoric to the contrary. I encourage all visitors to the US to ask Black Americans if racism is a major obstacle in their lives. Almost invariably, you'll find that American immigrants from Africa - those whom you'd believe to be most affected by racism - say racism is almost non-existent. It is only those native-born African-Americans who have been raised in a culture of victimization who still hold that racism is a serious impediment to their ability to lead a happy and successful life in America. Is everything perfect? No. But we should appreciate and celebrate the incredible progress we've made, and continue to make, trying to create a society based on character, not color.
Lawrence, USA
- I'm not in the U.S., so can't comment for life on the streets. One thing hip hop, and rap in particular (and I speak as a lover of that music format) has given to people worldwide, not just to middle class whites, is an understanding of the exploitation in America which is not simply racially based. Yes, black people can "make it" in the U.S. but there is still a deep rooted down-trodden class in America, restricted to "projects/ghettos" where drugs and related violent crime have turned black on black, and from the oppressors point of view (whoever the "oppressor" is) this has achieved divide and rule, whereas MLK achieved change through peaceful unity. With the male ego so dominant in rap culture, dissing brothers and sisters of all races, MLK must turn in his grave at the thought of what it brings to the progression of civil rights in America (but it is still infectiously good music).
Rob, UK
- The speech gave momentum to the freedom movement in Africa. Unfortunately, I don't think his dream is close to becoming a reality, especially in his land, the USA. Though segregation has been abolished, black people in America still suffer from racial discrimination. Most of them still are destitute, with the lowest per capita income and average life expectancy of any ethnic group in the states. But things are changing slowly, and I hope one day in the not so far future, King's dream may come true.
Oumer, Ethiopia/Denmark