THE DAY DR. KING'S DREAM CAME TRUE

* EDITOR’S NOTE: On the day that America inaugurates its’ first African-American president, we wanted to take you back in time…a little over a year ago…to the night of Senator Barack Obama’s first victory in the 2008 campaign.

After Obama won the Iowa Caucus, we published a piece titled “The Night Dr. King’s Dream Came True.”

At the time, our prediction may have been a bit premature, but now that the historic moment is truly upon us, we wanted to share this deeply moving story with you again. Penned by our Founding Editor New Frontier, it captures all of the hope, optimism and joy that people around the world are feeling today.

Congratulations to President Obama, Happy Birthday MLK, and God Bless America!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered,

– Tiger Haynes,

Managing Editor

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“NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE REAL THE PROMISES OF DEMOCRACY”

Dr. Martin Luther King, from his immortal ”I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, August 28, 1963.



“THEY SAID THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME”

- Barack Obama, Victory Speech in Iowa, January 3, 2008

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Last night, America changed forever — and for the better.
Last night, Democratic voters in Iowa shocked the world — and the political establishment.

Last night, 12 days before his birthday and in the 40th year since his assassination, the people of Iowa made Reverend Martin Luther King’s dream come true. They judged a man not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.

Last night, Iowa Democrats honored the highest ideals that President John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy stood and fought for — the ideals that Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and so many other lesser-known but equally brave Americans gave their lives for. They handed Senator Barack Obama a clear and decisive victory in the first caucus of the 2008 presidential race.

Last night, history was made, a massive milestone reached in what JFK once called the long twilight struggle. The struggle is far from over; we cannot for one moment forget the sacrifices it took to get us where we are — right now, right here in America.

Few under the age of 30 who were fortunate enough to grow up in a largely colorblind and desegregated society can imagine a time when their black brothers and sisters could not even sit beside them at a public lunch counter. Not so long ago in this country, a black American simply seeking to attend a state-run university had to be escorted in by federal troops after riots erupted in the streets. The very act of casting a vote was enough to put one’s safety in danger. In 1961 — the year Barack Obama was born – merely asserting a citizen’s right to travel subjected the Freedom Riders to brutal beatings, assault with firehoses, and the teeth of Bull Connor’s unforgiving, bloodthirsty police dogs.

Few of us over the age of 30 could have imagined the reality of an African-American man being a serious contender for President of the United States in our lifetimes. Few could honestly believe that in the American heartland, in a state whose population is nearly 95% white, Iowans would choose a black man as the candidate best qualified to lead our country.

But they did. And it’s wonderful. Somewhere, MLK is smiling.


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