There were those who said the United States was entering a "post-racial" period with the election of Barack Obama to be president. That was a ridiculous assumption (as the remaining racists have shown us by crawling back out from under their rocks in response to the president's election). And the recent survey by the Pew Research Center (done between August 1st and 11th of 2,231 adults living in the continental U.S. -- with a margin of error of 2.5 points) shows that most Americans realize this.About 80% of the general public believes that more must be done, and 49% say a lot more needs to be done to achieve racial equality. Those believing more needs to be done include 79% of Whites, 91% of Blacks, and 77% of Hispanics -- with 44% of Whites, 79% of Blacks, and 48% of Hispanics saying a lot remains to be done.
I don't know about you, but it makes me feel a little bit better that so many Americans realize we have not yet achieved the racial goals Dr. King outlined in his famous "I Have A Dream" speech 50 years ago. We have made some progress, but we are not there yet. Decent people need to get back to work and finish the job -- not just for minorities, but for the good of all Americans.
