King Still King?

Martin Luther King is no doubt still the figurehead of the African-American Civil Rights movement, and of course what he did brought about amazing improvements in rights for African-Americans. But the fact that King is still king might not be such a good thing. It means that in the past 50 years no one has surpassed him. There haven't been any changes in the situation of the African-American people that even come close to the dramatic changes of the 1960s. With President Obama's second inauguration tomorrow, fittingly on MLK Day, it is obvious that the overall climate of racial relations has improved. MLK's immediate goal has been more or less realized. At that time, basic integration and equal rights were a lofty enough goal. It was necessary to achieve that before striving for full equality. But now, in 2013, full equality should be closer than it is.