Then there's the reality that race matters in America can no longer be framed exclusively in black and white. Latinos and Asians have become major players in the fight for political and economic empowerment and figure big in the political strategies of Democratic and Republican presidential contenders. Today's civil rights leaders will have to figure out ways to balance the competing and sometimes contradictory needs of these and other ethnic groups and patch them into a workable coalition for change.
Still, civil rights leaders can draw strength from the courage, vision and dedication of those who battled for the 1964 Civil Rights Act's passage. They can and must continue to fight hard against the racial and economic injustices that still plague the nation fifty years after Johnson's landmark signing.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).