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How much has changed since Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech?

Has America realized the message in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech?
Credit: Central Press/Getty Images
Black American civil rights leader Martin Luther King (1929 - 1968) addresses crowds during the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, where he gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech.

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Newtown community marched for multiple reasons on Martin Luther King Jr's memory.

They marched for Justice.

“The youth will make a difference. Black Lives Matter,” said one woman holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign.

They marched for freedom down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

“We’re here for a great cause…unity! Love it!” said a father holding his children's hands as they walk.

But how much has changed since King's "I Have A Dream" speech nearly 55 years ago? And has his dream been realized?

“Not yet," said Fredd Atkins, Sarasota's first African-American mayor. "We are a in a continuous struggle of surviving civil rights and human rights. We stand at almost 1968 at the murder of Dr. King. Things have been so reversed in the last few years."

Where did we go wrong since Dr. King’s speech?

“Money and power has created a void in our community," Atkins said. "Our concern is the disparity and economic development pf the African-American community and other minorities is creating the biggest problem.”

Some of the thing that happened while King was alive are happening today, said Niki Heggs, who celebrated the King holiday at a park bearing his name.

“We’ve lost ground definitely lost ground,” she said. “I’m seeing KKK rallies, David Duke speaking out agreeing with the President It’s hard for us to see that right now."

But there’s still hope, Heggs added.

“Not judge by the color of their ski but the content of their character,” she said, reciting part of King's “I Have A Dream” speech.

Atkins was asked what must be done to realize King's dream?

“Those that our conscious don’t be silent that silence may be holding up the process," he said.

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