Sixty years ago, more than a quarter million people from around the globe gathered in the nation’s capital for the March on Washington in protest for more jobs, an end to unfair wages and segregation, and to gain civil rights in voting and education. On that day, August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s lauded “I Have A Dream” speech was the centerpiece of the movement. The stirring and highly celebrated address set the stage for what Black Americans would define as equality and economic freedom for generations to come.

But today, 60 years after MLK’s hope for the future, have we realized his dream for America?

The work of civil rights leaders and the March’s organizers led to major legislation wins not long after the historic event, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in public and private spaces, such as schools and places of employment. All these decades later, Black poverty has declined and Black family income has increased. Still, Black unemployment rates and increasingly restrictive voting laws show that the Black community and its allies still have a long fight ahead for equality and economic freedom.

"Sixty years ago, Martin Luther King talked about a dream. Sixty years later, we're the dreamers," said civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, who led the anniversary March on August 26, 2023.

Watch the latest episode of BET INDEX to see the over/under of the progress Black people have made since MLK first shared his dream.