The Shepherd Nook - The dawn of a new day

by Eveno
Martin Luther King's dream of a new America where white boys, white girls will join hands with black boys and black girls seems to have gotten closer to become a reality. History was made on the night of June 3rd, 2008 where Barack Obama, a black man, clinched the Democratic Nomination to represent the aforementioned party in the upcoming presidential election; that constitutes a march to realism of this dream. Win, lose or draw; history was made and there is no denying it.

Now the question that one may ask…Are we there yet? I would be naïve to think this victory signifies an arrival of sorts for the black race in a country through its history of slavery has ostracized and reduced to mental inferiority a people based on shades. Nevertheless, America has opened a new chapter and a new day is upon us. I remember reading of a gathering of more than 75,000 people in Oregon to cheer a black man where in the yesteryears, he would have been jeered. That is quite comforting and reassuring that progress, though small, is being made and we can not ignore it. This huge crowd that came out to support Obama as he is running for a political office sets a record as no politician has had this much impact positively on a generation. Needless to say, Oregon is a white state and apparently color was inconsequential, for the people believe in the message. Some deem Obama a rock star to have the ability to attract such huge following.

Again, has America arrived? Not at all! We are not there yet but we are on our way. We have started the engine of the car and we have pulled off but a roadmap is handed to us. This victory does not end racism for during that same week Obama was attracting this crowd of people in Oregon somewhere in Georgia, Obama was depicted as a monkey holding a banana. In spite of the hurdles ahead for Obama and the black race in general, a new page in the history of this country (USA) has been written and can never be removed, can never be overlooked. This achievement will remain etched in the memory of us all and in the minds of a generation in dire need of a sense of hope and change. Hope and change sought by all shades living in this country and Obama through his political march seems to embody such American fixture.

Whether you are an Obama supporter or an Obama detractor, you should stand and applaud this great day of positive happenings in America. This historical victory is not a favor granted to a black man for the ills done as means of reparation but a vote of confidence in the man's qualifications as a person and as a leader.

"I have a dream that my four little 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."

Have we arrived?

When we would have arrived we would not need a roadmap to guide us for the road would have been paved smooth both for the Whites and for the Blacks. We would have arrived when America is not afraid to speak honestly about racism. We would have arrived when "every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together"

We would have arrived when " we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day"

We are not there yet, nevertheless today is a dawn of a new day in American History.
A side note
Obama is scheduled to receive the Democratic nomination 45 years to the day that Dr King gave his "I have a dream" speech...Interesting turn of events!

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