From King's 'Dream' to Obama's Reality

"We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now!" Lewis told the crowd.

Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech, in Washington D.C., Aug. 28, 1963....

Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech, in Washington D.C., Aug. 28, 1963. Forty-five years to the day later, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama speaks on stage at Denver's Invesco Field to officially accept the nomination.The inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's first black president on Tuesday can only make Martin Luther King's message more poignant, Eddie Glaude said Sunday night.

(AP Photos)

Tonight, now Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is in Denver to witness a moment he said he's prayed for.

"The nomination of Barack Obama is a down payment on making the dream of Dr. King real," he told ABC News. "It is not the end or the beginning, but it is a step, a significant step down a very long road to create a more perfect union."

"We saw those signs that said white men, colored men, white women, colored women, white waiting, colored waiting and to see a man like Barack Obama rise to this level, he carries our hopes, our dreams, our longings, our aspirations," Lewis added.

The White House Obama hopes to occupy was built by slaves. For so many African-Americans, Obama's nomination has profoundly changed the way they view what can be achieved in this country.

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What Would King Think of America Today?

A new ABC News poll finds that 64 percent of blacks now believe their child could become president. Only 46 percent of whites believe the same.

That hope and optimism over Obama's achievement is on display at Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C.

"Even if Barack Obama does not win, we as a people have come so far, we as a nation have come so far," said Corey Briscoe, 19.

Back at Ben's, Richardson echoed that thought.

"When Dr. King said, 'I may not get there with you to the mountaintop, but I know, want you to know that we're going to get there.' And that day is coming forth."