It's been 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death on a motel balcony in

Memphis, Tennessee. And over the decades he has become one of the most revered figures in

American history. There is an impressive memorial to him in Washington, DC, and a museum celebrating

his life in Atlanta, Georgia. Countless schools and boulevards have been named after him,

and a national holiday is dedicated to his memory. How is it then that so much of his legacy,

what he hoped to pass on to the future has been lost? King wanted equality under the law and said

famously that people ought to judge one another based on character, not skin color. But he also

believed that blacks had an important role to play in their own advancement. The black civil rights

battles in America are now over, and King side one. The best indication of that may be that

King has had no real successor. If black Americans were still faced with legitimate threats to

civil rights, such as legal discrimination or voter disenfranchisement, it's likely that leaders

of King's caliber would have emerged to carry on the fight. Instead, what we have today are pretenders

who have turned the civil rights movement into an industry, if not a racket. And what of these

racketeers accomplished? A lot for themselves and very little for their constituents.

Racial gaps in income, education, and home ownership were narrowing in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

But after King was replaced as the spokesman for black America by the likes of Jesse Jackson,

Al Sharpton and others, these gaps began to widen in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. This suggests that

the racial disparities that continue today aren't driven by whatever racism that still exists,

despite all the claims to the contrary from progressives and their allies in the media.

It also suggests that black culture, attitudes toward marriage, education, work, and the rule of law

plays a much larger role than the left wants to acknowledge. More marches won't address

fabulous homes. More sit-ins won't lower black crime rates or narrow the school achievement gap.

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