free at last.

i remember during my 5th grade graduation, one of the faculty members recited this entire speech, from memory. it was absolutely remarkable, and is definitely something that i will remember for the rest of my life. more than half way through the performance, tears streamed down her face -- and she struggled to hold back from breaking down so she could finish the historical address. considering i was relatively young, i truly couldn't understand and fully embrace the emotion displayed in her presentation. i was aware of the reasoning behind the speech based upon the vast amounts of suffering that the African American communities endured across the country, and touched nonetheless, but not until i got older, did i really FEEL this speech from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. now, when i hear this speech, it brings tears to my eyes, much like it did the narrator of the speech on my day of exiting elementary school.

with the inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama in less than 24 hours, the impact of Dr. King's speech that was already off the charts, is seemingly unprecedented now. the say that "all things shall come to pass," and now we are living in a day and age where we have a President that not many, in our wildest dreams could believe would run our nation. a day and age where not much good has come from the past bi-term of pure fuckery. a day and age where things will probably get slightly worse, before they get drastically better. but it is also a day and age that has brought forth an event of epic proportions.

it is the change. he is the change. we are the change.

this will be a testament to the character of "minorities" and people of different ethnic backgrounds for years to come. depending on how things unfold, it could very well be an, "i told you so!" type of situation for all of the naysayers. however, hopefully it will demonstrate how irrelevant one's race, gender, religion or creed is when it comes to grabbing the ship by the helm. all that truly matters is the power of one's mind, to lead an entire nation. in lieu of the current economic crisis, we the people, need something to hold on to, and much like the pro-Obama optimists, i believe he will provide just that for us.

happy belated birthday, Dr. King.


sincerely,
the product of your dream.