if martin luther king were alive, he might [hard to know it's impossible/hypothetical] still use terms familiar to his speeches - 'black, white, et c.'
pondering topics within this thread; my friend here now, says he prefers 'black,' and we then found this:
Surveys show that the majority of Black Americans have no preference for whether "African American" or "Black" is employed to describe them, although they also show that there is a slight preference for "Black" in personal settings and "African American" in more formal settings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people