Living the Dream

On November 11, 2008 I, like many African-Americans, went to the polls with the hope of making history. We had followed this Presidential campaign as closely as we had any in our history. In January, we wondered if this would be a rerun of a movie we had seen before. You remember, 1988, charismatic black candidate trying to honor the legacy and dream of Dr. King, only to falter due to lack of experience and gamesmanship. As the months passed by after the Iowa Caucus, we began to see that there was something different about this man who screamed that what we as Americans needed was change. We were not looking at another black man running for the presidency, what we saw was a legitimate candidate who had a real chance to win.

Fast-forward to January 20, 2009. What for a few was just another cold January day in DC, for many was a day that will be forever etched in our minds. The image of Barack Obama with one hand on the bible and one hand raised, one day after the holiday that celebrated his hero, taking the oath to become the 44th President of the United States is one I will never forget. At that moment, I saw a cloud above him and in it played a video of scenes from the Civil Rights movement. But the marches, sit-ins, school desegregation, Rosa Parks at the front of the bus, etc. all had a different look. Instead of anxiety and defiance, the faces were jovial and proud. And right before President Obama repeated the final words of the oath of office, Dr. King put his arm around Coretta and uttered "It's not a dream anymore!"