Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream of Racial Equality: How Close Are We?

American adults were asked about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of racial equality in an Economist/YouGov poll conducted last week. 

Approximately two out of three Americans (69% to 31%) think that King's "I Have a Dream" speech is still relevant today. Most Democrats (80%) and Republicans (58%) think it is still relevant, though 42% of Republicans disagree. Similar percentages of Black (69%) and white (72%) Americans believe King's speech still matters today.

The majority of Americans (51%), including 50% of white Americans and 54% of Black Americans, describe race relations in the U.S. as generally good today. Four in ten Americans believe Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of racial equality has been realized today, while 34% believe only some of it has. Democrats and younger Americans are less likely to say King's dream has been accomplished than Republicans and older Americans.

20% of Americans believe Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of racial equality has come true to some extent.

Throughout his life, King advocated peaceful, nonviolent protests to end structural racism. More than one-third of Americans (36%) say protests are necessary to achieve racial equality today, with a higher number agreeing among Democrats (64%), Black Americans (58%), and 18- to 29-year-olds (48%). 

A relatively small number of Americans (16%) say racial equality has already been achieved, while nearly half (48%) say protests do not make substantial progress. A majority of Republicans (63%), white Americans (55%), and elderly Americans (59%) agree.

The majority of Black Americans, 58%, believe that protests are necessary to achieve racial equality today, while only 29% of white Americans agree.

What do you think?

To view the full article on charts, head to today.yougov.com.