YES WE DID!

An Election Day to remember…The impact of this historic night still hasn't quite sunk in for me. I’m excited and thrilled, but also sober and focused. As I watched the polls close, the vote tally ratcheting steadily upward for my chosen candidate, I sat next to men and women who had lived lives replete with personal stories of extreme discrimination, unprovoked abuse, the most abhorrent epithets, scars from overt and covert hatred directed towards them for no reason other than their skin color.

I chose for a few moments to be more an observer than celebrant. These septuagenarians and octogenarians never dreamed that they would see this day in their lifetime. These everyday heroes (descendants of slaves, survivors of Jim Crow, participants in the Civil Rights Movement and victims of redlining and urban decay) applauded, hollered, cheered, laughed loudly and sang songs of praise as they witnessed a virtual miracle taking place before their eyes: the election of the first African-American President of United States! What was once unfathomable has come to be a reality! The joyful tears streaming down those beautiful, weathered and wise faces inspire a great hope for our future within me.

We are the catalysts for and the progenitors of fundamental change in the world. As my mentor and employer has said many times on stage “Impossible is unacceptable”! We can and will make this incredible nation an even more perfect union! We can and will make this world a more beautiful place. YES WE CAN!