Jane Junn Traces Changing Definitions of Race in the U.S.br The Century Foundation - The Century Foundationbr Barack Obama's success so far in the 2008 election cycle has fostered optimistic rhetoric in mainstream media about race relations in the United States.But does Obama's candidacy transform Martin Luther King Jr.'s American dream into a reality?A recent New York TimesCBS poll found that Americans are sharply divided by race on their views of Senator Obama and the state of race relations.In addition, with an increased presence of other minority groups, issues regarding race in political and social life are no longer black and white.