Obama, the first African American president of the United States, has been compared to Martin Luther King, Jr. for his public speaking abilities. Some people see his presidency as evidence of the fulfillment of MLK's "dream"—after all, in the span of forty-five years, we went from living in a country where there was no Civil Rights Act to a country led by a Black president.

But is that true? Does having had an African American president mean that dream has come true? These are controversial and divisive questions in twenty-first century America. According to some statistics African Americans are more likely than white people to think racism is still a problem. (Source)

It makes sense when you consider people's different experiences. How are you supposed to know there's racism going on if you're not the primary target?

In a now-famous campaign speech during the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama addressed this very issue. The speech has become known as "A More Perfect Union." (Source)

Here's the context: Obama had come under criticism for the comments of one of his former pastors, Jeremiah Wright. In sermons, Wright had criticized America, and claimed that racism was pervasive throughout all levels of society.

Obama's response to this: racism is still around, but we've made progress. Still, just because we've made progress doesn't mean we should stop. His ideas about race were captured in a particularly famous line:

"In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination – and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past – are real and must be addressed."

If you substitute the idea of "a more perfect union" for the idea of a "dream," you're almost reading "I Have a Dream II."

The speech was enough to dispel most of the controversy about Wright and propel Obama toward the White House. It's a fitting response, almost fifty years later, to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s proclamation that 1963 was just the beginning.