Today being the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., let’s look for a new way to pay tribute to the civil rights icon.

Everybody knows that King’s most golden moment was his “I have a dream” speech, delivered Aug. 26, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

It’s remarkable to realize that King made mention that he was speaking 100 years after the Civil War that would end slavery but would not end the quest for racial equality. Now it is half-again that long, another 50 years, and many say the gap of inequality hasn’t closed much. It’s as hard to measure as it is to deny.

Speaking for about 17 minutes, King delivered one of history’s most memorable speeches. President John Kennedy credited the passage of his civil rights legislation to King’s impassioned persuasion, and a year later King became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the time.

As King ended speaking and waved goodbye to the cheering throng of about 250,000, he handed his original typewritten speech to a young man standing next to him on the podium. a volunteer bodyguard named George Raveling.

Raveling happened to be an All-American basketball player for the Villanova Wildcats.

By coincidence, Villanova defeated Michigan on Monday night to claim the 2018 national champions — a fitting tribute to Raveling, and King.

Raveling still has the original transcript of “I have a dream.” He’s been offered $3 million for it but says he does not intend to sell it. Maybe it will reside one day in the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. That would be a fitting repository for such a national treasure.

The King anniversary sparks another rhetorical question: Why was the recent hit movie “Black Panther” not commemorated with a series of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys? Was a decision racially motivated?

Good question. Released only three months ago, the Marvel Comics-inspired movie featuring a black superhero has grossed more than $1.2 billion worldwide.

This query was seen recently on social media and is bound to snowball, so it merits a researched answer — and here it is.

According to the trade magazine AdAge, “Black Panther” is being distributed by Walt Disney Studios, and there had not been a Disney-inspired Happy Meal set in more than a decade.

“McDonald’s hadn’t been able to promote any Walt Disney Co. movie in its Happy Meals since 2006. That’s when Disney opted not to renew a 10-year pact,” AdAge reported in February, “in part because Happy Meals didn’t meet Disney’s then-new nutrition guidelines.”

All that’s changed now. McDonald’s and Disney have a new Happy Meal deal.

Recent changes by McDonald’s have again made Happy Meals compliant with Disney’s food criteria. It’s a thrilling development for both: the agreement helps McDonald’s as it looks for new ways to increase the massive business it does with families, who already make up 25 percent of all visits to its U.S. restaurants, and gives Disney a big way to reach millions of potential moviegoers.

AdAge reports: “Fittingly, as the collaboration is a sequel to an earlier pact, it kicks off with two sequels: ‘Incredibles 2,’ which opens June 15, followed by ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2,’ due Nov. 21.”

Assuming the runaway success of “Black Panther,” a sequel seems imminent.

Would the sequel get a corresponding Happy Meal set?

Bet on it. McDonald’s and Disney would be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity.