Like my blogmate, Patrick Eadburn, I have not been a fan of Barak Obama. But, speaking not as John McCain supporter or a Republican, tonight, June 3, 2008 is moment in American history.
Whatever one thinks of the Senator from Illinois, he has broken a barrier that did not ever seem possible. Tonight we saw a major party claim an African American as its presumptive presidential nominee. Mind you, as I heard on the radio tonight, it was only 1964 when the Democrats were dealing with Fanny Lou Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democrats tried to get seated in place of the state’s segregated delegation. As a black man, I am proud to see this day happen.
It was also a masterful stroke of politics to claim the nomination at the Xcel Center in St. Paul, where the GOP will gather in September. Not a bad way to throw down the gauntlet.
In the coming months we will talk about the strengths and weaknesses of both presidential candidates. But we do need to remember that in light of America’s shameful racial history, we might still have ways to go, but we have come a mighty long way.