Witnessing History & Facing History - August 28, 2008

53 years ago today, Emmett Till was kidnapped and lynched in Money, Mississippi for allegedly flirting with a white woman. Till served as "a final straw", as an impetus for the Civil Rights Movement. It was time for a change - 145 years after the Emancipation. It was time for the masses to rise up.

45 years ago today, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the mall professed his dream to America and the world. His dream was for a society in which people of all nationalities, ethnic groups and classes could work together towards the building of a non-violent, productive democracy.

40 years ago today, Rev. Channing Phillips was the first African American to be placed in nomination for the Presidency of the United States by a major political party. Channing was a Civil Rights leader from Brooklyn.

3 years ago today, the world watched in horror as Mother Nature wreaked havoc on Louisiana and Mississippi. We wept at the way in which human beings were left to rot like animals in blazing heat and poisonous waters. Hope and faith is what brings the disenfranchised back into the American fold.

Tonight, a multi-racial/multi-ethnic, a truly African American man accepted his nomination as the Democratic nominee for the office of President of the United States. Here, on Chicago's south side, where the Obamas have spent years in community service, a warmth and glow has swept over the faces of the people.

This week, I've watched South Siders greet each other with smiles and joy...a new sense of hope and pride that is instilled in us because of the likelihood that one of our own will occupy the Oval Office. There is a silent longing in the eyes of my people. There is a burning desire for revolution, for change.

Some years ago, hope was put in the late Mayor Harold Washington on a local level and with Jesse Jackson on a national level. We didn't see then that the foundations were being laid for greatness to come.

No matter what the results of the November election, history has been made this year. People of varying backgrounds danced and rejoiced in Denver all week. As the fireworks lit up the Invesco stadium, as Democrats cheered, an African American family is embraced by a White family and they are all embraced by the world. It is truly a moment Dr. King would be proud of. In a political sense, "The Dream" has been reached!