Democrats aren’t waiting for Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) to take the stage tonight to begin paying tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered 45 years ago today. A lineup of major names from the civil rights movement just paid tribute to King’s legacy and proclaimed Obama its heir. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the last surviving speaker from the March on Washington that day, called Obama’s nomination “a major downpayment on the fulfillment” of King’s dream. “We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long distance to go,” Lewis said. “We’ve come a long way, but we must march again. On Nov. 4, we must march in every state, in every city, in every village, in every hamlet; we must march to the ballot box. We must march like we have never marched before to elect the next president of the United States, Sen. Barack Obama.” King’s daughter Bernice introduced her oldest brother, Martin Luther King III, who said the civil rights giant would be “proud of Obama, proud of the party that nominated him and proud of the American that will elect him.”