Race Relations and the Nineties: Where are the Dreams of the Sixties

The sixties were marked by optimistic dreams — of a color-blind society, of black power, of reparations for oppression. Movements pursuing these goals fell short offull success but had a significant impact on society. While the right of every citizen to equality without regard to race was reaffirmed, a new principle of rights based on ethnicity emerged. Assimilation lost its luster as a goal but significant black power was not achieved. The latent report on blacks in American society shows stagnation and even decline in their economic situation. While white Americans accept the principle of racial equality, they resist efforts to implement it. There is no prospect for the radical economic reforms needed to reduce the inequalities of class and race. One of the most inspiring events of the 1960s occurred on August 28, 1963, when Martin Luther King, Jr., stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and declared, "I have a dreaín my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! " (1986:219). This was an era of brave, optimistic dreams. Those dreams began to take shape ten years before King's memorable speech, as the school desegregation decision of 1954 gave rise to brave hopes in the hearts of segregated, downtrodden blacks. The concept "a revolution of rising expectations " well described their situation. Victories ove