and it came true today!
Martin Luther King Jr. stated in his speech overlooking the Lincoln Memorial, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Today, such a man took the oath of office as the President of the United States.
President Barack Obama will go down in history as the first black President. I am sure in the end he will just want to be known as the President who brought America out of these troubled times. Yet, regardless of what he accomplishes in his term, he can not set history aside. He is the first. There are many that never believed they would see it in their lifetime. My husband included.
Growing up in a small farming community in Mississippi showed him that those kinds of expectations were not meant for people of color. Jim Crow laws in the deep south were still a way of life just a few short years from when Leonard started public school. The Public School system there taught him early in life that black people were to be treated differently. It WAS the way of life. However, while being raised by two uneducated grand-parents, he still knew he could be successful. I am sure they were grateful for an education afforded to their grandchildren that was not a right they had in their younger years.
President Obama referenced the civil rights struggle in his speech today.
"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."
Today is a day of hope and change. If for that reason alone.
The significance of this day is not lost on Our Family. When Aralie was little she used to say she wanted to be President. Of course I would always tell her she could be anything she set her mind on. Yet, that little voice inside was such a doubter! Could she really? Would we really ever see a Women President or a Black President. Well, one barrier is down and I am sure the next will follow.
President Barack Obama will go down in history as the first black President. I am sure in the end he will just want to be known as the President who brought America out of these troubled times. Yet, regardless of what he accomplishes in his term, he can not set history aside. He is the first. There are many that never believed they would see it in their lifetime. My husband included.
Growing up in a small farming community in Mississippi showed him that those kinds of expectations were not meant for people of color. Jim Crow laws in the deep south were still a way of life just a few short years from when Leonard started public school. The Public School system there taught him early in life that black people were to be treated differently. It WAS the way of life. However, while being raised by two uneducated grand-parents, he still knew he could be successful. I am sure they were grateful for an education afforded to their grandchildren that was not a right they had in their younger years.
President Obama referenced the civil rights struggle in his speech today.
"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."
Today is a day of hope and change. If for that reason alone.
The significance of this day is not lost on Our Family. When Aralie was little she used to say she wanted to be President. Of course I would always tell her she could be anything she set her mind on. Yet, that little voice inside was such a doubter! Could she really? Would we really ever see a Women President or a Black President. Well, one barrier is down and I am sure the next will follow.
Today as I was watching the Inauguration I was moved by the tears flowing down the face of Rep. John Lewis from Georgia. He is one of the last speakers from the Civil Rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr. He was beaten within an inch of his life during the freedom rides of that turbulent time. He was there for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. What an incredible moment for him today. To see the fruits of his effort and all the pain he endured....his dream came true today too!
I will conclude with Rev. Joseph Lowery's prayer. He too was involved in the civil rights movement. After Rosa Parks made her stand, he lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He also led the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965. The end of his prayer today is an old civil rights chant. It was not written for this occasion today. It was written in halls of injustice more than 40 years ago. "....help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right."
He concluded,
Let all who do justice and love mercy say amen and say amen and Amen!
