Wednesday, November 5, 2008

what absolute pleasure


good morning america!


obama won the presidency while i was sleeping. i have had the same routine for 3 years. my alarm clock rings, i blindly hit snooze a time or two then i pick up my cell phone to see if the hospital has called regarding my shift for the day. i get up, make my coffee and kiss my sweet black kitty.


this morning, the routine was altered. yes the clock was ringing, yes i checked my phone but somehow, in the dark and through blurry eyes, i noted that i had several text messages.


what? who was texting me in the middle of the night?


i opened them one by one....OBAMA WON JANA!! HE WON!! OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT!! HE DID IT!!


i didnt get up, i jumped up and ran to the tv to make sure it was certain.


ahhh yes it is!! he did it....i had a feeling he would but you can never be too certain of anything too quickly.


i had a huge rush of emotion. finally a democrat back in the office and what a huge step for decent human beings.


you see, president elect obama is multi racial. but anyone that has a drop of black in them is just considered black in the eyes of most.


me? im white yes. but i had the honor of growing up in the southern united states. as a youngster i wasnt always so proud of that. southerners were often considered ignorant, backwards, rednecks but as i grew older i realized that it was other people's ignorance that brought this prejudice about- as it is with any prejudice.


one of the pleasures of living in the south is living amongst legends. of being surrounded and reminded of the struggles that some of our people faced in this country.


i live within an hour of atlanta. home of the martin luther king family.


martin luther king has always been someone that i admired for his courage and his beautiful words. he walked many steps and fought against prejudice and hatred with his gentle words and speeches to ensure that his people could have a better life. he believed that one day, he HOPED that one day we could all stand side by side in this country.


for the first time in american history, blacks in this country could vote, they didnt have to eat out back or use a ramshackle building for a public bathroom or not be able to drink out of a "whites only" water fountain or enter through the back door anymore. or more notably...sit at the back of the bus.


dr king didnt live to see most of this take place. he was killed trying to obtain the rights of his people. what a total loss of life and humanity.


but his legend continues. his flame burns bright at the king center in atlanta ga. and no one ever forgets this man or what he stood for.


what pride he would have today to see senator barack obama....president elect barack obama...elected as the first african american president of the united states of america.


his work and the life that he gave were not in vain.


this morning. i am so happy and in such awe of my fellow americans. ive sat in the quietness of my home with tears of pride for the citizens that see past color and made dr king's "dream" come to its fruition.

1 comment:

  1. Nice post!
    Same here, wen I got up, my mom came shouting Obama won -- I ran to TV and I was so happy and relieved -- my reason I want Bush out of office!
    Anyway it is so happy!

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