Today, January 20th, 2009 marks the day the United States of America has officially sworn in the first African American President in history. Barack Hussein Obama. It is a day I will never forget.
I just wanted to write this down somewhere so I have it as a memory. I set my alarm so I could wake up and watch in on TV. I had tears in my eyes before it even started just because I realized how much I personally have taken for granted and how much history has always felt like a thing of the past, when in actuality it is unfolding right before our very eyes. I was given the opportunity to live it today and am thankful for that.
I can't even imagine what life was like when an African American man was not served in a local restaurant, when he was considered 3/5 of a white man. How disgusting and inhumane. A lot has changed, but in some ways a lot hasn't. It is so unfortunate that it has taken this long to happen, but at least it happened and we can only move forward from here.
I feel somewhat rejuvenated, kind of like a second "new years" celebration in a sense. Although we are in no way starting over, more like moving foward. That's what needs to be done and I look forward to the future even though it will take a while for things to be visibly different.
