From the school house to city hall, blacks have enjoyed big gains since the 1963 march on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
High school graduation rates are up, along with income, life expectancy and even the overall number of blacks holding elected office - from fewer than 500 to more than 6,000, including 300 mayors.Yet on the 25th anniversary of the landmark civil rights rally, blacks remain several steps behind whites in nearly all walks of life - education, politics, health and the work place.
Just as it was on Aug. 28, 1963, the jobless rate for non-whites, 10 percent, remains double that of whites.
Although the percentage of blacks living in poverty dropped from 51 percent to 31 percent, the current figure is nearly triple what it is for whites, 11 percent.
Twenty-five years ago, the median income for white families, adjusted for inflation and in 1986 dollars, was $23,450 - nearly double that of non-whites, $12,409.
"We've come a long way since 1963, but we still have a long way to go," said Martin Luther King III, the second of four children of the slain civil rights leader.
Martin Luther King III, 30, is a two-term commissioner in Fulton County, Ga. Yolanda King, 32, is an actress and works at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta. Dexter King, 27, is a businessman and concert promoter. Bernice King, 25, is a law student and minister.
In national politics, blacks have achieved mixed and modest gains.
There were just three black congressmen in 1963. Today, among the 535 congressmen, 23 are black.