On Aug. 28, 1963, my father stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and summoned a nation to pay attention — not merely to a speech, however to a imaginative and prescient. He dreamed out loud, daring America to think about itself higher: a rustic the place dignity wasn’t decided by pores and skin shade, the place alternative wasn’t sure by delivery and the place the guarantees of democracy have been prolonged to all. That dream ignited a motion, moved hearts and bent the arc of historical past towards justice.
Sixty-two years later, I stroll within the lengthy shadow of that day — with satisfaction, sure, but additionally with profound concern. For whereas now we have marched many miles towards freedom, we discover ourselves, but once more, in a second of ethical reckoning.
Right this moment, I ask not solely: What’s the state of the dream? But additionally, extra urgently: Will we proceed to pursue it, or will we let it slip away?
The March on Washington was by no means solely about ending segregation. It was additionally a name for financial justice, for entry to good jobs, truthful housing, respectable training and, above all, the appropriate to vote. It was a requirement not only for civil rights but additionally for human dignity.
Within the following years, we received landmark victories — the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Truthful Housing Act of 1968. They didn’t resolve each downside, however they supplied the instruments to construct a extra simply society. And for a time, it appeared we have been climbing towards the mountaintop.
However historical past, as my father typically warned, doesn’t transfer ahead by itself. The forces of injustice by no means sleep, and at this time we discover ourselves confronting a harmful regression.
Earlier this month, the Voting Rights Act turned 60. However as a substitute of celebrating its power, we’re mourning its erosion. For the reason that Supreme Court docket’s Shelby County vs. Holder determination, not less than 29 states have handed 94 restrictive voting legal guidelines — legal guidelines designed to not safe democracy, however to suppress it. Gerrymandering, voter roll purges, closed polling stations and harsh ID necessities — all one function: a concerted effort to weaken the voice of the folks.
These assaults on the vote don’t stand alone. They exist alongside deepening financial inequality that continues to choke alternative, particularly for communities of shade. In 2024, the wealth of 19 of the richest American households soared by $1 trillion. Practically 1 in 3 Individuals reported a worsening monetary state of affairs — and virtually half of Black Individuals wrestle with healthcare prices. The racial wealth hole is rising. Black households maintain simply $15 for each $100 white households have.
These aren’t simply statistics. These are the signs of a system nonetheless rigged in opposition to the folks my father fought for. They replicate the “different America,” the place poverty, prejudice and despair stay the norm.
These disparities grew worse throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when Black Individuals died at twice the speed of white folks. Not attributable to biology, however to injustice — due to unequal entry to care, jobs and safety.
This isn’t the dream. That is the nightmare my father warned us in opposition to.
Our divisions are being weaponized. Hatred, concern and bigotry are not whispered within the shadows. They’re shouted from podiums, unfold throughout airwaves and codified in insurance policies.
And but, I don’t despair.
I nonetheless imagine within the dream — not as a distant hope, however as a name to motion. My spouse, Arndrea, and I, together with our daughter, Yolanda, work each day to honor my father’s legacy and construct the “Beloved Neighborhood”: a nation rooted in justice, compassion and solidarity. The dream can’t thrive the place votes are silenced, wealth determines value and individuals are punished for merely searching for to stay in dignity.
On Thursday, we’ll march once more — this time on Wall Avenue, alongside a coalition of leaders and activists — to demand financial justice for all. True freedom shouldn’t be potential with out the liberty to thrive. We march not only for 1963, however for 2025 and past.
The facility of that day 62 years in the past was not in its pageantry, however in its function. The 250,000 individuals who gathered on the Nationwide Mall didn’t come for a celebration — they got here to situation a problem: America, stay as much as your beliefs.
That problem stays.
Anniversaries aren’t simply markers of time. They’re invites to recommit. They remind us the work of justice isn’t completed, and every technology should embrace the mantle anew.
So, allow us to transfer from reminiscence to motion. Allow us to not merely admire the dream however advance it. Allow us to shield the vote, shut the wealth hole, put money into our communities and lift our voices till justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
The dream continues to be alive — however provided that we combat for it.
Allow us to march ahead collectively.
Martin Luther King III is a world humanitarian and activist and the eldest son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He’s chairman of the board of the Drum Main Institute, co-author of “What Is My Legacy?” and co-host of the “My Legacy” podcast.
