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Before we tackle a question like this, we need to look at context. And we need to treat the man as a man, not a cause.

Lincoln, responsible for emancipating our nation's slaves and arguably beginning the advancement of the civil rights cause, said that he would never suggest that blacks could be intellectually or socially equal to whites. Was he racist? No. Did he still have a vision of race relations far ahead of his time? Absolutely. Was he a great man who made great changes? Absolutely. Was his vision accomplished? Yes.

Does that mean that we live in a perfect world, or that the fight to end racism and racial inequality is won? No.

Similarly, MLK lived in a time when the status quo was entirely different than in our world and times. If a black person were told to "get to the back of the bus" or that "we don't serve coloreds," in the United States of 2009, they would be taken aback, surprised, and maybe even laugh at the mere ideas. For black Americans in Martin Luther King's times, these were realities of every day life.

When Dr. King spoke of a day when little black boys and girls could hold hands with and play with little white boys and girls, he was not speaking figuratively. He was speaking literally. In his time, that was unthinkable. Today, it is normal and accepted.

Martin Luther King, Jr. lived in a day when it was common for white Americans to call people "niggers." Today, even people who use that word tend to look over their shoulder and think twice about it.

We have come a long way since Dr. King's time, and I believe that we have cashed our check. Is our nation, or our world, perfect? No. Will it ever be? No. Is there still racism and racial inequality? Yes. But simply the fact that the "norm," or what is expected of black and white Americans is now the same, is the accomplishment of his dream. The fact that we discuss "racism" and "racial inequality," and consider them as out of the ordinary and unacceptable is the accomplishment of his dream.

Now, for considering him a man, not a concept. We have accomplished his dream, but that does not mean we need to stop fighting racism and inequality. Martin Luther King and his dreams were part of an idea, not the whole idea. He lived in a time where his vision and his dream were very forward thinking and radical, just as Lincoln's vision of physical freedom for blacks was in his own time.

That dream has been realized, that check has been cashed. But our society's checking account has not been closed. Martin Luther King's dream was not the destination; it was a stop on a long, hard road. We have reached that stop, but must continue down the road.

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