 Story highlights Obama commemorates the 50th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech 
 
 King's words "belong to the ages," Obama says 
 
 As the first black president, Obama is seen as a product of the civil rights movement 
 
 Heralding the long fight toward racial equality that many say hasn't ended, President Barack Obama commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Rev. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Associated Press) 
 
 Entertainer Forest Whitaker speaks at the Let Freedom Ring ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington... (Associated Press) 
 
 Audience members wear ponchos in a light rain during the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Audience members sing during the benediction for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Children take part in a "freedom ring" bell-ringing ceremony in Trafalgar Square, London, to mark 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington, Wednesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 People carry civil rights signs as they gather in Washington, D.C. before Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963. Barack Obama, who will speak, was 2 years old and growing up in Hawaii when Martin Luther... (Associated Press) 
 
 Three women who attended previous March's on Washington, from left, Armanda Hawkins of Memphis, Vera Moore of Washington, and Betty Waller Gray of Richmond, Va., (holding sign) listen to the speakers... (Associated Press) 
 
 President Barack Obama speaks at the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. In the two years following the march, President Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act to outlaw discrimination, and King received the Nobel Peace Prize. "Because they marched, city councils changed and state legislatures changed and Congress changed and, yes, eventually, the White House changed." Gilbert Lyons, an employee of the National Park Service, attended the original March on Washington half a century ago and heard King utter his famous works in person. Obama has said King is one of two people he admires "more than anybody in American history." President Jimmy Carter, speaking ahead of Obama, asserted that recent developments in American policy would have disappointed King. That in fact they can work together.” 
 
 Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jamie Foxx were among a list of speakers who addressed a nation that has made great strides in racial equality since King's "dream" speech helped bring about landmark civil rights legislation. She said she took the NAACP bus for four dollars round-trip 50 years ago and went because her mother was a civil rights activist who was honored by former President Harry Truman for helping sign black people up to vote. A half-century after the march, he said, is a good time to reflect on how far the country has come and how far it still has to go, particularly after the recent acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager. And the more I heard about Martin Luther King, the more things he was doing, I said, 'this man is great. Many Blacks See Discrimination in Matters of Economics and Justice 
 
 A separate question in the poll asked blacks directly whether they thought discrimination was mostly the reason blacks tend to have lower income, jobs, and housing than whites.
– Some excerpts from today's speeches at the Lincoln Memorial honoring the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, from CNN, the AP, and NBC News. President Obama: "His words belong to the ages, possessing a power and prophecy unmatched in our time. We remember how he gave mighty voice to the quiet hopes of millions." Obama added: "Because they kept marching, America changed. Because they marched, the civil rights law was passed. Because they marched, a voting rights law was signed. Because they marched, city councils changed and state legislatures changed and Congress changed and, yes, eventually, the White House changed." Bill Clinton: "It is time to stop complaining and put our shoulders against the stubborn gates holding the American people back." Jimmy Carter: "I believe we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to the new ID requirements to exclude certain voters, especially African-Americans. I think we all know how Dr. King would have reacted to the Supreme Court striking down a crucial part of the Voting Rights Act just recently passed overwhelmingly by Congress." Rep. John Lewis: "We have come a great distance ... but there are still invisible signs, barriers in the hearts of humankind that form a gulf between us." Oprah Winfrey: "We, too, can be courageous by continuing to walk in the footsteps of the path that he forged." Also today, about 300 churches and schools around the world were ringing their bells at 3pm local time to commemorate the anniversary. A Gallup poll finds that 60% of African Americans think a white person is more likely to get a job over a black person even if they're equally qualified. Only 39% say blacks and whites have an equal chance in such cases.