Very emotional tonight

I was sitting outside tonight thinking about all of this. I'm not a believer in heaven, but I still talk to my deceased parents regardless. I talked to them tonight.

I grew up in a political family. Politics invaded every aspect of our lives. My white parents were at the 1963 March on Washington (Kings "I Have a Dream" speech) and marched with King and others. My father was at the forefront of the civil rights fights in the 60's. I grew up in New York CIty and have never experienced segregation because of the wonderfully diverse city I called home, but I constantly heard and read about it at home. I have to admit that I occasionally wished as a teenager we could talk something else at dinner, but it always came back to politics, the Vietnam war, and civil rights.

I started tearing up realizing that I'd voted for the first African-American president of the U.S. I started tearing up, sad that they were missing this. I started tearing up knowing that friends I love who've died and would be beside themselves with happiness are missing this. And I started tearing up thinking about all of the people of so many different races had voted for Obama. I started tearing up that the state I now call home, North Carolina, a a slave-holding state and, in the scheme of things, one that isn't historically that far away from slavery and Jim Crow, had voted so significantly for an African-American presidential candidate.

I remember watching people being hosed, beaten, attacked with dogs, turned away from schools simply because of the color of their skin. We were shown pictures of lynchings when we got older -- our parents wanted us to understand what they were fighting and those pictures certainly brought it home. I've done genealogy research and know that my ancestors not only owned slaves, they were large slave holders and were an integral part of the slave trade.

And then Obama spoke in NC and put me over the top. Do I think he's the perfect candidate? No, I don't. I wish he were more progressive on some issues. But I think he's a damn good candidate and a very good man. And I got to vote for him. Here's to all of those people I wish could be here right now -- my parents, my friends, Martin Luther King, W.E.B. du Bois, Medgar Evers, Paul Robison, and so many more.

I'm glad I'm here to witness this and be part of it.

:hug:

(and i am not one to harp on spelling, but you might want to change to 'deceased')

so heavily on that!

Thanks for sharing yours.

It gives me great satisfaction to have voted for this man in my own primary, as it will the general election in November.

Historic.

As an "old time liberal," I'm keenly aware of the meaning this has to many. I don't have to be entranced by Obama to be entranced by what this means to millions and millions and millions of my 'cousins' in the black community. Without any illusions regarding Obama himself, I can easily see myself standing in a diverse crowd with tears streaming down my face at the feelings that members of my 'human family' may be experiencing if and when Obama is inaugurated. Their joy will be my joy.

When I called him and congratulated him on his candidates win in NC. For a 67 year old black man from Alabama . . . the pigs flew! :-) He said again, "Had you told me this in 1955 . . ."

That is the day I am waiting for...

:hug:

:toast:

peace and low stress

to my 20 year old daughter, how much it meant to get to vote for an African American candidate or a woman, I got tears in my eyes.

And that my daughter said with disbelief, "You've got tears in your eyes," let me know that we had come even farther than I thought.

Beautiful! :hi:

:hug:

How very much he would have loved this moment. How very disappointed - dejected - he was when George W. Bush was selected in 2000, then again, even worse, in 2004. He died in 2006, never seeing this.

Gawd, he would have loved tonight. And so would my late mother-in-law, and my own dear Mom - a Rosie the Riveter fighter type, who may very well have supported Hillary, but would have enthusiastically supported Barack, as well. She was a real New Deal type.

So many didn't make it through to see the end of this most awful presidency in U.S. history. In fact, none of us have made it yet. But tonight I feel hope.

He raged at Reagan when he fired the Air Traffic controllers by fiat. He thought there should have been a general strike by organized labor across the country when that happened.

And he despised baby bush. He only lived to see a short time of jr's destruction.

In a way I'm glad he didn't see the horror's of incompetence that led to 9/11. And the wretched aftermath.

you've got me tearing up. :)

Kicked and recommended.

She told me she wasn't planning on voting today because "it is just a primary." I was SO disappointed... She said she was concerned Obama was taking up too much - so much is screwed up and it would make it harder for the next AA. I told her this was our chance. We talked for a while and I realized it was a lost cause.

She called me tonight - about 8:00 - to tell me she and her sister VOTED. For Obama. I told her I loved her, was SO proud of her, and that she made my day. She said it was difficult finding her polling place (Tom Joyner reported this morning that finding one's polling place was the hardest part about voting today), but she did and was one of the first in line.

GO OBAMA

:hug:

All of us are sharing in this wonderful moment in the story of America.

and we are still following that light.

:hug:

and thinking not just about the names we know but about all of the nameless people who paved this way. The people who had the guts to face down those cops and those dogs. The people who had the courage to walk into those segregated schools despite being faced with hostile crowds and politicians (e.g., Wallace) do vowed to fight them. The folks who had the courage to sit down at lunch counters, have food thrown in their faces, have hateful words thrown in their faces, face threats, be arrested, and go on trying. Some are alive, some aren't -- I'm still feeling overwhelmed by what these courageous and patriotic Americans have accomplished. I celebrate now for all of us -- this is a great day.

"silent majority" are not made in the image of the hate-mongers who, shedding their crocodile tears all the while, have been murmuring that the American people are too racist to choose a black President.

I have a young step-niece who has a high worldly intelligence and, fortunately, an empathetic intelligence to match it. So it was great to learn that she had won a full scholarship to a prestigious Oxford college. She is vehemently anti-racist, and was visibly shocked when I told her about the lynchings in the Deep South, even of women, the Sundown towns, the police dogs set on civil rights campaigners, etc. I'm sure she will be overjoyed if the will of the people for a just count in your elections, for your manifest goodwill as a people, are allowed to prevail.

I wrote it.

I mean that the choice of so many for Obama will by no means be primarily a protest vote against racism by the voters. Although, in fact, it will have been the most practical vote against it imaginable, whatever their position on racism, they will have voted for Obama as the future President, because they believe that he is the politician they can rely upon with the greatest confidence to address and deliver on the issues that most keenly affect themselves and their families, rather than the corporate chiefs. Their choice is an eminently practical one and, indeed, essential, as they well know.

I am proud of my country tonight.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

on here but we west indians have no outlet. Am so glad I found this place, DU, has been a sanction for me. Obama is still standing tall.

Thank you for sharing your story.

It's a beautiful thing, a moment to savor.

Thank you for your post - it made me pause & think, reflect.

Can you imagine SOTU with him delivering?

Can you imagine having someone in the White House to admire, who inspires, of whom you're proud?

OMG I can't wait.

That's how things take shape in the world: everything starts with an idea.

Yes we can make it happen. Together we stand.

- An English-German whitey voting for Obama here :hi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHNhc6TPXts

It was created specifically for what happened in February. The first time I saw it I'm not ashamed to say I cried.

Further accomplishments could be added to the list, but it is still powerful.

In the twenty-first century, the dogs are on talk radio and in news studios; the hoses are blatant racist appeals to stereotypes such as militancy, unreliability, dishonesty, inadequacy, accusations of "reverse-racism" and an overall lack of patriotism.

Nobody said this would be easy--and we aren't even at the starting gate yet.

Barack Obama is just good at making it look easy. The man looks like he isn't even breaking a sweat yet!

thanks for sharing your story.

I as a "white" American will be voting with pride and confidence and great hope in Obama!

We all need to stay especially tuned in to all that is happening in America -- and often things
begin to move very rapidly around campaigns -- the next Democratic president will need our constant
support to end this war and return legal justice and economic stability to the nation ---

and to begin to address Global Warming.

that our top two candidates are a woman and a person of color. How long will it be until the GOP has a leading candidate of either?

to quote a soon to be first lady. I agree with her. Great post. My mother is still alive and for opposite reasons I am glad she is here to see this. Several months ago she said "we'll never have a black president". By then I knew he would be our president so instead of arguing with her I just smiled to myself. We now need to all visualize a safety bubble around him.

I want to be UNITED States of America!

that the sacrifices of Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many courageous African-Americans brought us to this day --

Remembering his strong voice for justice and peace in the world--

I marched and protested at school in the 60's, and I cannot believe it has taken 40 years for an African American to even run for president. That's a long time. I would have loved for a woman to be the nominee or the VP running mate of this man, but not the woman presented to us. I am so terribly disappointed in Hillary; disappointed to tears. I had such tremendous hopes. I have three grown daughters and I raised them with the philosophy that women civilize the world. Men may conquer countries, and steal governments and fight wars, but it is the women who have brought us from caves to where we are today. But I think Hillary felt the need to prove that she was as "good as a man," when she should have know that she could be even better.

I wish my friend, Valerie was here.

She and I were best friends since 9th grade,
back in 1966. We got a few angry glares
from people when we were together.
And this was in Santa Monica,CA, a rather
progressive city, now.

She died in Managua, Nicaragua during the 1972
earthquake.
Her dance troupe had been invited to perform
there. The troupe arrived on December 22, the
day before the quake.
They were asleep in their hotel rooms when the
quake hit. No one survived.

She is smiling down on me, I just know it.

In fact, I can see her doing a magnificent dance
of joy, knowing Obama has very good shot at
becoming our first African American president.

:)

Despite some very ugly racist rhetoric, a lot of people of all different colors and backgrounds voted for a black man for president yesterday. That makes me happy.

to get blacks in the union was here to see this.

Thanks for your post but now you got me crying.

i wish he could see this, too.

:hug:

South Carolina voting for Obama 2 to 1 began his surge that got him where he is now. North Carolina saw to it that he would regain the momentum and dispell any notions that he might not secure the nomination. We have a lot of shameful things in our pasts - Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, etc. - it's nice to be on the right side of history for a change. I know SC has no chance of going Democratic in November, but you Tarheels are getting a bit blue around the edges. Thanks for a nice post.

Yes we ARE proud today and my Mother from Illinois has sworn to NEVER say, "what do you expect, it's the south" ever again.

YES WE CAN

My husband, granddaughter and I were discussing how it appears so many young people voted for Obama with no thought to his color. It's fun to see college students getting this inspired. Thanks for expressing how really significant Obama's accomplishments are and how the people are truly changing in ways I hadn't quite put together.

Almost 20 years ago my then 6 year old son wanted to invite his best friend from the first grade over. We called and his parents agreed to bring him to our house Saturday. I don't know which of us were more surprised; we're white and they were black. Neither one of the kids had noticed or didn't think it significant enough to comment on. I'm in a second marriage with a young child, and when she started having birthday parties a few years ago we realized they were going to be diverse. Keep in mind that I'm in South Carolina. I don't know how kids are that are raised by racist parents, but I see practically no indication of race consciousness in today's kids. Once they're older, the same thing applies to sexual orientation. Both of my older kids are heterosexual, but mingle freely and without any question with gay friends. Gays weren't allowed to come out of the closet when I was their age. I think we've made progress, and electing Obama could really seal the deal.

And she will know that when a African American man is elected President of the United States this fall that ANYTHING is possible and soon it will be the RIGHT woman's turn. Her mommy will be so proud on both days of the long way this country has come that she will no doubt cry.

Hell I cried yesterday. Obama's speech was one of the most patriotic, REALLY patriotic things I've heard in a long time.

GOD I LOVE THIS COUNTRY

He would tear up, and some. He's somewhere weeping now, all the hardships, the hard feelings, the hate. We still have so far to go but to see where we are now is amazing. When I found out that our convention is on the 40th anniversary of his "I have a Dream" speech, it gave me goosebumps.

I was born in 1951 and learned to "duck and cover" in my Chicago elementary school. I was in 7th grade when JFK was assassinated. Watched the beatings of civil rights workers on television. Watched the Vietnam War on the evening news. Was a high school junior when MLK and RFK were assassinated, along with the the 1968 Democratic Convention. Drew number 231 in the draft lottery (whew!). And, really have not felt positive about anything since, until I heard Barack Obama and said, "This guy is the real deal!" America needs Obama! Let "boomers" like me and Hillary retire to Obama's audacity of hope.

I was moved by your words, particularly this:



I was born in South Carolina and raised in both North and South Carolina (live in North Carolina now). I am extremely proud of both the state of my birth and my adopted home. We've come a long way since I was born in the early 60's.

Sometimes I think that it's easy for the rest of the country to overlook the incredible amount of racial progress that has been made in MOST places in the South during the past 40 years. (A relatively short time when you really stop to think about it.) We still have a loooong way to go, that's for damn sure. (DU is in no danger of losing it's favorite punching bag any time soon.) However, we are making progress and the fact that Obama won both states (in the primary at least) is proof of that.

In 1960 both North and South Carolina went for Kennedy in the General Election. I think in 2008, at least one of the two (North Carolina) will go for Obama in the general.

I think with more posts like this we will be able to finally bring our party back together again.

When I voted for Obama in Wisconsin, I was overwhelmed that I had just cast a vote for a black man for President. People said it would never happen in my lifetime and not only was he on the ballot, my other choice was a woman.

gone, too, but they would have been thrilled, too, and oh so proud to vote for Barack Obama! I feel like we, as a nation, have turned a corner.

BTW, like you, I wish Obama were more progressive, but I think he has to be so careful about every step he takes.

Because you wouldn't be thinking these thoughts without their activism.

We all are links in a long, long chain that goes back a long, long way. Each link is important, each one shimmers on it's own. The chain is broken without any one of those links.

I'm just one of those links and so are you. So small in some ways, yet ultimately, so powerful.

I told him he is living history and his kids WILL be studying Barack Obama. Thank you for putting it just right.

I just want to say that I'm incredibly touched by the posts here. Wow, just wow -- history unfolding in so many ways for so many people. I love it and I'm still so incredibly moved by it.

And Obama isn't perfect, but he's someone really special who is going to be good for this country.

Mark Thompson, who has his "Make It Plain" show on Sirius Left in the afternoons has had some pretty cool discussions at times and talks about many topics you simply don't hear, haven't heard, and if are not careful, WON'T hear unless you make a point of doing so.

One of those discussions was with author Douglas Blackmon, who's put out a book titled "Slavery By Another Name", that notes that slavery has in effect continued (he terms it "neoslavery") since the Civil War through at lest WWII and in some areas in the 70's and 80's, and through many loopholes in the south with "prison labor", etc. and laws engineered to get more persons of color into the prison system, companies like U.S. Steel down south HEAVILY exploited this sort of laborer against their wills and had their services even "sold" to others much like slavery had done earlier...

Read more in this review here:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/10/arts/10masl.php

His site and another review here:

http://www.slaverybyanothername.com/











I was just amazed when I heard them talk on Thompson's show as well as reading this review how blatant, and yet under the covers these sorts of insidious practices have happened, and to some limited extent perhaps even through to the 1980's!!! And we wonder why we have such a big prison population now! What helped somewhat was technology, according to Blackmon when he talked to Thompson. When they had newer farm equipment that could replace manual labor, that reduced the "need" for southern farmers to try to "own" their neo-slave labor when they could cost effectively farm with this machinery instead. World War II happened about the same time with the GI Bill and with more integration started in the military then and later overseas, which later translated to more rights for African Americans in the U.S.

I think if we all read this and shared it with others, it can help many understand the massive difficulties, even RECENTLY, African Americans have had in integrating and advancing in our society, and why the presidency of Barack Obama represents such a milestone and such a big opportunity to fix these huge wounds in our country hopefully now and in the future.

I have been really enjoying watching Barack the past weeks, how he's handled crap, how he has remained on target and stayed in his heart. I se it more and more in those of us who are really holding that vision of a better nation, after 8+ years (decades...?) of delusions and despicable behavior. Just being able to believe in something again is amazing.

My parents aren't so open, though. Hillary is as radical as they can get, they are afraid of Blacks, and there is really nothing I can say or do to change it. My mom grew up in the deep south, my dad in Oakland...and we were raised in the Oakland hills. I have always been color blind, and can only bite my tongue wen I hear some of the stuff my folks are saying these days.

Definately looking forward to having him bring peace and prosperity to our nation - while my folks are still alive to see it!