Inauguration

Image via WikipediaI've been watching the coverage on CNN for the last 2 days, building up to the actual inauguration on Tuesday.

I love hearing the stories of all those who have traveled to Washington DC, all who want to be a part of this incredible and historic moment. The broadcasters, especially Solidad O'Brien, keep looking back to Martin Luther King giving his "I have a dream" speech all the way back in 1963 in the same spot in Washington. It's amazing that only 45 years separate this event, the swearing in of our very first black president, and that one where King gave his most famous speech:

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

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.

I have a dream today!Image via Wikipedia

I keep thinking how much Darcy would have loved to see this inauguration take place and keep crying over it. She didn't even get a chance to vote for him because she was in the hospital on November 4th. I had thought earlier of getting her an absentee ballot but never did because I had other things on my mind. But I wish she could have voted for Obama.

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Edwards & MLK III

Here is a letter sent to John Edwards from Martin Luther King III after they met and talked.

January 20, 2008 The Honorable John R. Edwards 410 Market Street Suite 400 Chapel Hill, NC 27516 Dear Senator Edwards: It was good meeting with you yesterday and discussing my father's legacy. On the day when the nation will honor my father, I wanted to follow up with a personal note. There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of back and forth in the political arena over my father's legacy. It is a commentary on the breadth and depth of his impact that so many people want to claim his legacy. I am concerned that we do not blur the lines and obscure the truth about what he stood for: speaking up for justice for those who have no voice. I appreciate that on the major issues of health care, the environment, and the economy, you have framed the issues for what they are - a struggle for justice. And, you have almost single-handedly made poverty an issue in this election. You know as well as anyone that the 37 million people living in poverty have no voice in our system. They don't have lobbyists in Washington and they don't get to go to lunch with members of Congress. Speaking up for them is not politically convenient. But, it is the right thing to do. I am disturbed by how little attention the topic of economic justice has received during this campaign. I want to challenge all candidates to follow your lead, and speak up loudly and forcefully on the issue of economic justice in America. From our conversation yesterday, I know this is personal for you. I know you know what it means to come from nothing. I know you know what it means to get the opportunities you need to build a better life. And, I know you know that injustice is alive and well in America, because millions of people will never get the same opportunities you had. I believe that now, more than ever, we need a leader who wakes up every morning with the knowledge of that injustice in the forefront of their minds, and who knows that when we commit ourselves to a cause as a nation, we can make major strides in our own lifetimes. My father was not driven by an illusory vision of a perfect society. He was driven by the certain knowledge that when people of good faith and strong principles commit to making things better, we can change hearts, we can change minds, and we can change lives. So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horserace, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father's words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud. Sincerely, Martin L. King, III

I HAVE A DREAM

I still get chills when I hear that speech. Today is the 43rd anniversary of a march led by King in Selma, Alabama. Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are speaking in churches today in Selma literally yards away from each other.

I have to think about what an amazing thing it is to have a woman and a black man running for president. And not just running, they are the leaders. Odds are one of them will be sworn in as president in 2009.

What a contrast to a mere 43 years ago. 50 years ago black people still had to sit in the back of the bus and had different rest rooms from whites. Racism is not dead but we have come a very long way and that chokes me up as much as Martin's classic speech.

Obama said that King was Moses, who led the people to the promised land but could not enter himself, and that he, Barak, was Joshua, the one to lead us across. Very powerful. Hillary sounds like she's trying to imitate King and just sounds lame and even worse, insincere, as if she's just putting on the act she needs to for the occasion. Now I'm pretty sure Barak is going to beat Hillary for the nomination, although I wouldn't count out John Edwards just yet.