"Nothing could be more dangerous than for us to fall prey to the irrational exuberance that often characterized public reaction to the Obama campaign. While there were many reasons to be excited about his candidacy, statements by persons like Oprah Winfrey to the effect that Obama was the “fulfillment of Dr. King’s Dream,” or something along those liens, couldn’t be more absurd. To hear Winfrey and many others tell it, Dr. King’s dream was merely one in which individuals would be judged “on the content of their character” rather than on the basis of skin color, and thus be able to rise to the ranks of presidency, or, in her case, build an entertainment empire of dizzying proportions. But King’s dream was never this individualistic or limited in scope. To suggest such a puny vision on his part is to capitulate to the safe, marketable image of King peddled for at least two decades by those who can’t afford the radical Dr. King to be spoken of, let alone celebrated: the King who called the United States the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” who came to conclude that traditional capitalism is an inherently destructive system inconsistent with democracy and who called for hundreds of billions in reparations, not only for the black and brown victims of racial injustice, but for the poor of all colors, immiserated by an economics of exploitation. That part of King’s dream was never mentioned by candidate Obama, and as such, will not likely be fulfilled by him."