Almost 50 years after Martin Luther King, Jr. began crusading for equality for minorities, N.C. Central University students still wonder: Did he really make much of a difference?

Their conclusions are a mixture of enthusiasm and disappointment.

Proud that King’s dream lives on today through education and the professional fields, they still think there is a long way to go before there is true equality in the United States.

“Within our race we have a lot to face because we are color conscious,” said Krystal Braswell, director of political affairs for the Student Government Association. “And there are still education gaps where some are not getting proper funding because we are dealing with segregation.”

By that, she meant de facto segregation — limited funding for traditionally black schools when compared to predominately white schools.

On the flip side, political science senior Sean Cunningham thinks higher learning for African Americans has improved significantly.

“There are more programs for African-Americans than there were in the 1960’s,” Cunningham said. “Although there is a need for more historically black schools, they are producing a record number of professionals — more black lawyers, PhDs and MBAs.” Sophomore class president Derek Pantiel said that today MLK’s vision is “a dream deferred,” in reference to the Langston Hughes poem.

“Although it has not dried up completely, people are forgetting what needs to be done. It seems like they have amnesia,” Pantiel said.

He said students should question if they are receiving a high quality education like the other institutions across the country.

“Until our people have a sense of identity and sense of self, then nothing will change,” Pantiel said.