Furthermore, any attempt to create an American “we” that is not fully inclusive, fully egalitarian, or genuinely accommodating of difference will contain the seeds of its own undoing. Finding new and ever-more inclusive ways to achieve Martin Luther King, Jr.’s unrealized vision of the “beloved community”—a true multiracial and multicultural “we”—is as urgent as ever, and will play a critical role in determining whether America is ultimately able to reverse its downward drift and move forward into another upswing.
