King didn't get what he wanted. A black man in the nation's capital has a better chance of being killed than a soldier had in Vietnam. A government study finds whites who need organ transplants are moved ahead of blacks on lists. Bush vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1990. Jesse Helms, running a blatantly racist campaign against a black challenger, wins re-election to the Senate.
Black children have the right to be bused across town for a poor education.
I could fill pages with headlines that make one wonder why we celebrate MLK Day. We seem to be moving further from his ideal. It did not transform the souls of those who would deny that fairness. We need the holiday to remember him and others who paid for that step. We need the day to keep our dream and theirs alive.