Let's Argue: I Still Have A Dream

In the wake of tomorrow's inauguration of the first African American president, has Martin Luther King's dream (see the "I Have a Dream" speech) been fulfilled? Explain why or why not.

I do not believe that Barack Obama fulfills Martin Luther King's dream of a unified America. I, and many people, should see it as an important step in bringing about equality, but it is not as though Barack Obama becoming President will stop racism. That is silly. Racism still exists, 45 years after King's famed "I Have a Dream" speech. It is a different kind of racism, however. It is no longer socially (in most circles) acceptable to be openly hateful towards people of a different race. There is no more enforced segregation, though I would argue that there is plenty of self-segregation among people (As MLK dreams, one day little black and little white children can legally hold hands, but will they actually want to?). Racism today is largely hidden, or left to hibernate in the recesses of the subconscious, because it is shameful. But it still exists. And it continues to do damage.

Even so when Martin Luther King said:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

he probably would have been quite impressed by November 4th. Although the media continually heralded Barack Obama as a "black" president, it became clear that the American people were not sold completely by that gimick. Barack Obama ultimately won the election because he could deliver a charismatic message of hope that the majority of America found appealing. Exit polls from the election found that race was not a deciding factor for most voters; in many situations, age overuled any concerns about race. But is race still an issue? Yes. How can it not be? Barack Obama isn't just "the incoming president", he's the "historical, first african-american" president".

But what does that even mean? What does it mean to be african-american? And is Barack Obama a good caricature of all African-americans? First off, Obama was raised by an all white family. Genetically, he is half-white. As a biracial person myself, I don't think I would ever like to be described solely by the term "african-american" because it misses out on who I really am. Obama certaintly wouldn't consider himself to be one or the other, especially not in the public spotlight, where he is often to preach how we're not a "white america or a black america" but a "united america".

But even these sentiments, although hopeful, are not entirely true. There is a difference in the socioeconomic standing of white and black people. 25% of white people have earned a Bachelors Degree or higher (which is still painfully low) as compared to only 14.7% of black people. 26% of black families live in poverty as opposed to only 8% of white families. Barack Obama, who did not live in poverty and attained a Law Degree, is an elitist, not that there's any shame in that, but he is.

That Barack Obama was able to become President, therefore, does not demonstrate the ability of an African American to make it in this country, but rather, shows how not having to face the pitfalls of a poverty ridden culture makes achieving the highest office in America easier.

So is Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled? Yes and no. Great strides have been made since that August day in 1963, but we are not there yet. We must not let ourselves become complacent in the fight against racism simply because the country is being lead by a black man. There are still injustices that King would have rallied against in America.