It can’t be about showing some black examples of success at the top. It must be about where the quality of life for blacks is compared to the quality of life for others in this country and if we look at it from that perspective, it has not changed much as we would like to say it has changed. It’s easy to throw out one or two black names that made it in sports or entertainment or even politics, but what about the median income level of black to white, what about the education level, what about the level of business, what about the level on contracts? When we get into those issues we find that we are not that different from 1968’s Kerner Commission.

I know I keep hittin’ up Tavis lately, but it’s because it seems to be the only venue on TV having the real conversation about race that Obama’s speech called for. And which, by the way, Sharpton has been dogged for in the mainstream media for how long?

Be sure to watch Tavis all this week from Memphis as we remember Dr. King’s legacy on the anniversary of his assassination.