It is perhaps a testament to the greatness of the late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. that just about every major U.S. city has a street named after him.  Today marks 40 years that King was assassinated.  He was shot in Memphis on April 4th, 1968, and those who are old enough to remember  --- whether they were a fan of the civil rights leader or not --- could surely tell you where they were on that day.

Many say the "Mountaintop" speech Dr. King gave the night before he was killed was a premonition... that he knew he was about to be murdered.  On that last night of his life, Dr. King told his audience that he had stood on one side, and seen the other.  That he had seen the Promised Land.  "I may not get there with you," he had said.

Dr. King never did say exactly what that "Promised Land" was, but he didn't have to.

His "Promised Land" was a world where all men and women would be treated equally.  A land where you weren't directed to the back of the bus because of your skin color.  A land where opportunites were limitless, regardless of your racial heritage. 

Which begs the question: Has Dr. King's dream truly been realized?  Can it ever?

Many might say the dream lives this election year, now that an African American man has a genuine shot at becoming president.  Others might say we still have a long way to go... and that America is still a nation dealing with institutionalized racism,  a problem that has led to blacks and whites living different realities.  A problem that has led to segregated cities, and a dramatic wage and education gap between blacks and whites, which leads to a host of other social discrepancies.

But Dr. King put this nation on a path that many still pursue.  And for that we must remember him today.  And our children must be taught about him. 

Because if we forget our history, we will be doomed to repeat it.