每日英语：March Remembers King's Dream

President Barack Obama on Wednesday said the entire world drew strength from the March on Washington 50 years ago, but that continued economic inequality and stagnant wages show that only part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s dreams have been fulfilled.

stagnant：停滞的，不景气的　　　　

Mr. Obama, speaking in front of the Lincoln Memorial where 50 years ago Dr. King gave his famous 'I Have a Dream Speech,' said that advances in securing voting rights, civil rights and the eradication of legalized discrimination of African-Americans show that part of Dr. King's goals were achieved.

eradication：消灭，根除

But he cited income inequality and disparities in the unemployment rate between blacks and whites as among examples of how Dr. King's goals remained unfulfilled. Tying the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to concerns about economic inequality today, he reminded people that jobs were a central goal of those marching years ago.

disparity：不同，不一致　　　　

'They were there seeking jobs as well as justice; not just the absence of oppression but the presence of economic opportunity,' Mr. Obama said. 'For, what does it profit a man, Dr. King would ask, to sit at an integrated lunch counter if he can't afford the meal?'

oppression：压抑，镇压，沉闷，苦恼　　　　agenda：议程

The remarks come as Mr. Obama continues to fight with Congress over his stalled economic agenda.

Mr. Obama said the point of the march and Dr. King's dream was to ensure that, regardless of race, people could join the middle class.

'The test was not and never has been whether the doors of opportunity are cracked a bit wider for a few. It was whether our economic system provides a fair shot for the many, for the black custodian and the white steelworker, the immigrant dishwasher and the Native American veteran,' Mr. Obama said.

custodian：管理人，监护人　　　　

He said many forces were responsible for inequality, and that some in the African-American community have themselves to blame. He said some people used concerns about police brutality as an excuse for criminal behavior.

brutality：无情，残忍，暴行

Mr. Obama was among a host of people who honored Dr. King and those who marched 50 years ago. African-American luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey and civil-rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D., Ga.) also hailed Dr. King's message.

Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton said Dr. King's dreams remain unfulfilled.

The 1963 march is seen as a masterpiece of nonviolent protest, a day of speeches, prayer and song that included gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and folk singers Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Participants then were advocating for basic freedoms later enshrined in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil-rights legislation since Reconstruction, which outlawed discrimination against racial, ethnic and religious minorities and women, and banned discriminatory voting-registration practices.

masterpiece：杰作　　　　enshrined：铭记，庄严载入