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How far has the dream progressed?

How far has the dream progressed?

In his seminal “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. presented his hope for a future where men and women would not be judged by the color of their skin, but rather by the content of their character.

Earlier this month, Mathews High School coach Charles Forrest, a guest speaker an NAACP-sponsored King Day celebration, wondered aloud “how far do we still have to go” in turning King’s dream into a reality.

In prepared remarks before a packed sanctuary at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Cobbs Creek, Forrest asked those gathered to consider the question of how far Mathews has advanced toward attaining King’s goals and how much more is still left to be done. He also suggested that earlier gains achieved in the county by African Americans may be slipping away.

He discussed the changes in Mathews—positive changes that, he said, have paralleled societal changes in general. Virginia elected the natio...

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