Down Payment on a Dream by Rambling Raven
By Raven • Jan 19th, 2009 • Category: Rambling Raven •
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Down Payment On A Dream by Rambling Raven
The country is all abuzz regarding the inauguration of Barak Obama. America is celebrating an inauguration like it has never done before. I am overjoyed that there is such a positive and celebratory atmosphere surrounding the nation’s first black president. And the fact that we are also commemorating Martin Luther King’s 80th birthday is truly surreal. I don’t think the magnitude of it all has been lost on anyone. The dream that King so eloquently conveyed to America over forty years ago is finally coming into focus. However, I don’t ever want America, especially black America, to think that an Obama’s presidency proves that the dream King spoke of has indeed been realized. We all need to understand that Obama’s presidency is only a down payment on that dream. The dream has yet to be fulfilled. Dr. King’s hopes, prayers and wishes for a more unified America is still a long way off before we can even suggest that it has become a reality. There are huge hurdles we still have to jump in order to become a more perfect union. The dream will be realized only when everyone is truly judged on the content of their character and not the color of their skin.
Racism is alive and well in America. Everyday, as African-Americans we live it. We may not have people yelling obscene racial slurs at us, or live under Jim Crow like conditions, but we still feel the inequities. Take a random black community and a random white community and you will see that the more things have changed the more they have stayed the same. The random black community will more than likely have higher unemployment rates, single parent households, higher crime, more of its sons and daughters incarcerated, staggering health issues, and more failing schools than its white counterpart. No, the dream has not yet been fulfilled.
Obama’s inauguration is a sign of hope. The fact that a man who looks like us can obtain the highest office in the world is a signal that the tides may be turning. It is also a sign that African Americans have so much more work ahead of us. In order to ensure that future greats emerge from within our communities we have to make them places that produce greatness. We have to stop looking outside of ourselves for answers to the problems that plague us. We have to make sure that our children grow up with safe streets, competitive schools and most importantly households that instill family values, self-esteem and the importance of education and community.
I, like the millions of others who couldn’t make the journey to Washington, D.C. will be glued to the television for every moment. I will listen intently to every word muttered by President Obama. My heart will be full as I witness him take the oath of office on Lincoln’s personal bible. My hopes, prayers and wishes for a successful presidency will be right there with him. And in my prayers I will ask for this to indeed be just the beginning. The beginning of a dream that was conceived so long ago, the beginning of more firsts by African Americans. I will pray for a renewed wanting, and hope for the black spirit, a hope that we can and will overcome.
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Raven is an educator with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Education. She has been an avid reader since childhood. Her favorite genres are mystery, suspense, and horror, although she will give any genre a try. She is a life long resident of Chicago. Her love of books opened her mind to people, places and events far beyond her Chicago home. Reading helped to shape her world and her opinion of the events that took place within it. No matter what demands her career requires of her, she has always found time to read and write in a journal. Along with reading and journaling, she loves to watch the sunset, and discuss hot topics with family and friends. She loves baseball, horror movies, mysteries, listening to music from every corner of the world and expressing her view of the latest books with the women of APOOO.
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Great blog Raven. I have the same sentiments.
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Like you, I know that racism is alive and well, but I also believe the tide is turning. So we have to be vigilant on both sides. Those ills won’t disappear on Jan 21, but we have another image before us daily of just who we can be. And the people who have the skewed image of African-Americans and blacks worldwide will have to put on a new thinking cap. I have been watching the events with pure joy and not a few tears. My daughter and I will be wearing pearls on Tuesday. Gil Scott-Heron sang a song some years ago – “It’s Winter in America.” But I believe this year that spring has finally arrived and as Whoopi Goldberg said as an African American, I can put my suitcases down.
Niambi, I also feel the hope. I just pray that this is the beginning of more great things to come.
Wonderfully put. Your line downpayment on a dream could not have been worded any better. I am kicking myself for not taking tomorrow off, because although we have CNN on the floor monitors, that will not be an uninterupted moment for me.
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I took two days off when I should be working but there wont ever be another moment like this in my lifetime
I thought about taking the day off, sadly I already took a day this month for a doctor’s appointment. I will have the computer on so I can see.
like you i know racism is alive, i am employed by a major med/heavy duty truck corp. i was shocked when i realized how far we have not come. i am a woman who has lived on faith and hope and i have claimed a better to future for my sisters and brothers. this is the beginning of a new way for everyone. embrace and rejoice YES WE CAN