Dr. Richard Cooper, director of the Bachelor of Social Work Program and co-coordinator of African American Studies at Widener University, sees the fight for civil rights as an inherently ongoing one. Photo Credit: Courtesy photo
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day approaches, advocates assess more than 50 years of civil rights progress and the challenges that persist today. Photo Credit: Unsplash Photo/HistoryinHD
by Tashi McQueen AFRO Staff Writer
As the fight for civil rights continues to evolve, activists of today are raising questions about how far the nation has come since the era of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and where progress has stalled.
Advocates, scholars and policymakers are assessing voting access, economic equity, education and criminal justice decades after the Civil Rights Movement. This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the AFRO took a look at how the fight for equal rights has progressed, where have we regressed and where can we go from here.
“The movement of African Americans articulated through the vision of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in my humble opinion, is one of the most significant social justice movements of all time,” said Dr. Richard Cooper, director of the Bachelor of Social Work Program and co-coordinator of African American Studies at Widener University. “We were looking for, in that era, more precise equality which included, voting rights, housing, opportunities for employment, access to education–the total package of African Americans having access to what was once referred to as the American Dream.”
All those ideas envisioned a future where legislative and systemic roadblocks would be removed, allowing full and equitable access at last, said Cooper. From the success of the movement in the 1960s, African Americans were being employed in previously excluded sectors, with national gains in access to education and upward mobility within the military.
“ not perfect–didn’t achieve all that had been hoped for–but when you compare it to the Jim Crow South or the world before that in terms of America, it’s amazing,” said Cooper.
Cooper also acknowledged that certain advancements were still not fully realized and faced significant pushback.
“I think what was underestimated is how vile this system is,” said Cooper. “Any overt gains, any clear access that Black people have earned and achieved, they continue to construct roadblocks. They continue that vitriol, that hatred systemically and on the individual level.”
Policies continue to deny Black people access to historical opportunities, jobs and education. Cooper said what’s happening now reflects long-standing beliefs the 47th president didn’t create; it existed in the South’s refusal to dismantle statues, emblems and symbols rooted in a bigoted past and preserved to uphold false histories.
“We underestimated the vitriol and the ability for them to rally again to take things back,” said Cooper. “We underestimated that, and that’s where we are now. I think this era shows us how you can paint things over and tear things down.”
Cooper described the fight for civil rights as a pendulum that continues to swing back and forth, but said history shows Black people remain resilient and committed to pushing the struggle forward. Despite growing pushback, some federal legislators remain vigilant, continuing to advocate for civil liberties and equal opportunity as resistance intensifies nationally and within certain states.
In 2026, there are new fronts in the war for racial equality.
On Dec. 2, 2025, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clark, (D-N.Y.-09), and U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey, (D-Mass.), reintroduced the “Artificial Intelligence Civil Rights Act,” a bill aimed at stopping discrimination in AI.
“It is no secret that as we speak today, our nation has found itself in the heart of a new technological revolution, the age of AI,” said Clark, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. “As we seek to innovate and drive this country forward, we have a duty to ensure that discrimination that has no place but in the past, does not become irreversibly entrenched in the technology of the future.”
The bill would prohibit AI developers and users from offering or using algorithms that discriminate or have unjustified disparate impacts based on race, sex, religion, disability, or other characteristics. It also requires developers to analyze AI systems and create federal algorithm auditors.
“We need to be able to trust that when we as Black Americans go to apply for a bank loan, secure employment, or even enter our own homes, we will not be denied on the basis of algorithmic bias,” Clark said.
The bill was first introduced on Sept. 24, 2024, by Markey and co-sponsored by Sen. Mazie Hirono, (D-Hawaii), but died in committee. The 2025 Senate and House versions await hearings in their respective committees.
