Despite Lessons on King, Some Unaware of His Dream

In a recent survey of college students on U.S. civic literacy, more than 81 percent knew that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was expressing hope for "racial justice and brotherhood" in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

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Zoie Jones, 8, reads an essay she wrote for a Prince George's County Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest. Elementary school teachers often struggle to fit in lessons on King.

Zoie Jones, 8, reads an essay she wrote for a Prince George's County Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest. Elementary school teachers often struggle to fit in lessons on King. (By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)

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/nation/photo Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

In celebrations across the country, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was honored in parades and special services.

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* Test What You Know About King

Where Hope Meets Hip-Hop

Chris Bacon is at a table in one of the few sit-down restaurants east of the Anacostia River, the Chesapeake Bagel Bakery, where he once worked and where every payday he would buy a bean pie.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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Most of the rest surveyed thought King was advocating the abolition of slavery.

The findings indicate that years of efforts by primary and secondary schools to steep young people in the basics of the civil rights leader's life and activities have resulted in a mixed bag. Most college students know who he is -- even if they're not quite clear on what he worked to achieve.