I Have Never Been More Proud of America

The other day, August 28, 2008 to be exact, I must say that I cried. I cried because I had the opportunity to witness history. I witnessed something that I thought I would never ever see. Ever! I witnessed a black man become nominated to be president of the United State of America. America, a country that was built on slavery, a country that segregated against the Negro, a country that hung my ancestors, a country that denied my people so much had nominated a Barack Obama to be its president.

I can only imagine how proud Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. must have felt as he looked down upon this historic moment. In his “I Have Dream” speech, Dr. King talked about little black boys and black girls joining hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. Well today those little kids are now grown, and I witnessed them hold hands to nominate a black man for president of the United States of America. Not based on the color of his skin, but purely on the content of his character. Dr. King must be somewhere standing tall and proud, just smiling.

Take a moment to imagine how Harriet Tubman must feel. Honestly this probably wouldn’t even be possible if it wasn’t for her bravery. She was essentially blacks’ first hero. A young lady who risked her life constantly, just for freedom, just for change, just for equality, Miss Tubman defines the word hero. Surely, God was with her every time she made those trips. She understood her destiny. She understood our destiny as a people, but even she could not have pictured this day.

There are so many that have paved the way for Senator Obama’s opportunity, and isn’t that all we ever wanted from this country, an opportunity. We never thought about actually becoming president. We just wanted the opportunity to become president. We just wanted the simple freedom of drinking out of that same water fountain if we wanted too, sitting at the same lunch counter if we wanted too, using the same restroom if we wanted too, just to sit on the front of the bus if we wanted too, a chance at a good education, equal rights, a chance to vote, and to express our opinion without being hung for it if we wanted too. All we ever really wanted was the opportunity. So many sacrificed there lives for this day, we owe them a big and gracious thank you.

As a young black boy growing up who loved to read about history, I always believed that despite our past, that I lived in the best country in the world. The other day, on August 28, 2008 to be exact, I’ve never been more proud of America. In fact, I’ve never been more proud of being an African America. Ever!