At the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of the most legendary speeches of all time.
Dr. King had high hopes for our country, which included “greater freedom and justice for Black Americans. And yet, today, Black people…across our country still face many of the same struggles that Dr. King fought so hard against,” writer Audrey Mechling points out.
Discrimination, police brutality, economic inequality are still issues that plague the Black community.
On this 60th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, ESSENCE is looking at how much of it, if any, came true.
01
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
While legal protections have been put in place, true equality has not been realized. In June this year, the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action, which many expect will hurt Black students. In addition, conservatives are attacking diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, banning books, and trying to outlaw critical race theory.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES – APRIL 21: Students and others attend a âWalkout 2 Learnâ rally to protest Florida education policies outside Orlando City Hall on April 21, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
02
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
All eyes are on Georgia as former President Donald Trump was indicted alongside 18 others in the election case. While not exactly at the table of brotherhood, there were Black and white co-conspirators, who are now facing trial in the courtroom.
Photo by Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images
03
“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
Decades of systemic racism have contributed to the Jackson water crisis. But there is some justice. Recently, the members of “the Goon Squad”– a unit of police officers who reportedly tortured Black men– are finally being prosecuted for their assaults.
JACKSON, MS – NOVEMBER 18: A guest at Stewpot Community Services drinks a bottle of water in the community kitchen on November 18, 2022 in Jackson, Mississippi. Stewpot Community Services offers meals and bottles of water for homeless and financially struggling citizens. Jackson residents have been suffering from unsafe drinking water for years forcing people to use bottle water to drink, cook and brush their teeth. Flooding in August caused the treatment facility to malfunction leaving residents without water to bathe or even flush toilets. (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
04
“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.”
Saturday’s racially motivated shooting in Jacksonville, FL and the Buffalo Tops shooting by a white supremacist last year show us that many are still aligned to ideologies of hatred against Black people.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – AUGUST 27: Candles burn at memorials for Angela Carr, Anolt Joseph Laguerre Jr. and Jerrald Gallion near a Dollar General store where they were shot and killed the day before on August 27, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. Police say that the attack by a gunman on Black customers at the store is being investigated as a hate crime. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
05
“I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”
Research shows that schools are more segregated now than they were in the 1960s pre Brown v. Board of Education. Additionally, schools with high percentages of Black students in high-poverty areas typically are underfunded and under-resourced. And although it spawned a bit of levity with memes and gifs galore, the Montgomery Brawl showed that racial tensions in Alabama are very real and alive.
People attend a rally to mark the 65th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s Brown v Board of Education ruling that ended segregation in public schools, near the Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2019. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP) (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
