The Obama Diary

USAToday: Amid preparations to unveil a national memorial in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., a majority of Americans say King’s dream of racial equality has been realized in the USA, although a gulf between blacks and whites persists over how much remains to be done.

Just over half of Americans polled say Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of racial equality has been fulfilled, and another one in four of those surveyed say major progress has been made toward it.

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds both pride and division on race relations. Nearly everyone - 90% of whites and 85% of blacks - says civil rights for blacks have improved in the USA during their lifetime, although whites are more likely to see the progress as far-reaching.

…. Dawn Scott, 50, a caregiver for seniors from Bloomfield, Conn., who is black, says racism continues but cites the election of the nation’s first African-American president as evidence of King’s legacy.

“If he was alive, seeing what Barack (Obama) did, he’d be the proudest man on Earth,” she says of the civil rights leader….

Obama is scheduled to speak at the Aug. 28 dedication of the King memorial, a 30-foot-8-inch granite sculpture set amid cherry trees on the northwest shore of the Tidal Basin.

VK News: On Sunday, August 28, 2011, the 48th anniversary of the “March on Washington” and Dr. King’s historic “I Have A Dream” speech, thousands will gather in Washington, D.C. to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a special dedication of the MLK Memorial, The “Stone of Hope” which is 30-foot statue of Dr. King located on the National Mall.