Fifty Years Later, How is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Dream?

Fifty years ago today, brave men and women marched on our nation's capitol to demand equality and justice. People all of colors and religions descended upon the Lincoln Memorial and hear a series of Civil Rights leaders speak about inequality in the United States of America. It was a hot summer day, but that did not deter those in attendance, nor those speaking. One man gave a 17 minute speech that has gone down in history as one of the finest speeches given in the United States of America. That man, of course, was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and he had a dream.

His dream was one of equality, of brotherhood, of fellowship. His dream was one of all people being judged, as he so eloquently put it "...not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." On that hot summer day, he shared a dream of a nation of true freedom for all people. That dream continues into this day. We have come a long way as a nation, but to say the journey is over is to accept a half-accomplished goal.

The minority community still faces disparate poverty and incarceration. It is not completely the fault of the government. Seventy percent of African American children are born to a single mother. Only 52 percent of black males graduate from high school. Rap music overwhelmingly promotes a "gangsta" image where drug use and gang life is exalted while working hard in school and getting an education is besmirched. An African American friend and I spoke of the lack of education in black culture. He told me that if you are the black kid in some schools that raises your hand to answer questions and you get good grades, you are mocked by your black peers.

Though I don't place the whole of the blame on the government, one place where it does hold back the African American community is with social welfare programs. Programs initially created with the intent to help now hurt. Programs meant to lift hold people back. Programs imagined with the best intentions have become the worse practice.

The Civil Rights leaders of today fail to address these things. They instead blame Conservatives. To be a black Conservative in this day and age is to be an "Uncle Tom." Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have the biggest Civil Rights pulpit and could use that to advance the need for education, the need for families, the need to break reliance on social welfare programs. Instead, they spew vitriol and draw attention away from the real issues instead of addressing them head on. I don't know why and I suppose that I never will. Until a prominent Civil Rights leader has the courage to stand up and bring attention to the real problems and call bull on the idea that one political party is trying to hold minorities down, the trend will continue and Dr. King's dream will not come to true fruition.