Enjoyed your post, Malcolm.

Nice post, Malcolm.

I believe Obama will face worse sabotage than Jackie Robinson, and the media and much of thte public will be ready to blame him if the USA doesn't pull out of its tailspin. I also believe Barack has the guts and spirit to deal with all of these challenges if enough of us are ready to support him against the plotting of the fat cats and their media.

I think of my great-grandmother, a formidable white woman from the deep South, born in the 19th century, who quietly told my mother to "turn on TV so we can watch the speeches."

I was three, and I can't swear my memory of playing with my doll beside her wheel chair with the television on was that afternoon, but there were only a few afternoons it could have been.

I think, for the convention, I'd better fill my fridge with Coca-Cola in green glass bottles. That's what she served, and I think we'll be watching the speeches together one more time.

My cousin is black and very successful in his field. Two years ago we were discussing possible Dem nominees and we got to Barack and he said, "He can't win." There was so much behind that proclamation, so much I can never know. But somehow the world got better in the last two years. It got better the night Obama won Iowa. You could feel it, the sea change. My cousin, and especially his white midwestern mother who married an African, feel it. It takes extraordinary people to make a better world, and that is what Obama has done.

Thank you for this beautiful post.

Thanks.

August 28, 2008 will be an incredible moment in history. Knowing the full weight of MLK's speach that will be lingering in the air will make it a powerful moment indeed. Thanks for this....

Thank you for the post. It gave me goosebumps as well.

Malcolm,

I can't believe you have my crying. The idea that hope is not to much to hope for. Especially when this government has seemed so hopeless for so long.

I cannot wait for the convention speech, or the inaguration speech. The words that will call a people into action and out of the apathy that has been choking our national conscience.

Thank you

This post really touched down deep,so very happy, for you & for all of us!

Reading through my tears. Beautiful.

Excellent post.

Thanks for your post, Malcolm.

That Barack's ultimate win and the mighty symbolism behind it won't be witnessed by so many giants of the civil right's movement and so many men and women who struggled and gave their lives for the cause, is truly bitter sweet.

I'm glad you gave them a voice.

You know Malcolm, I'm white and I'm having the same reactions, despite not having your direct experience with discrimination. I'm Jewish and my parents and even older siblings experienced antisemitism up close and personal, but I never really did - nothing worse than the occasional comment from someone who didn't know my background. But I was raised on the civil rights movement and the importance of it and I've always been fairly sensitive to racism among my peers.

And when Obama won in Iowa, I found myself getting chills, goosebumps, and some tears during his speech that night. Same thing after South Carolina. And again this week, knowing it's really gonna happen - at least the nomination. I never could have imagined a black man (or woman) winning in my lifetime. It still may not happen, but I know we've broken through to where its a very real possibility and even a probability. It feels amazingly good. I only wish my father (a very forward thinking white guy) was around to see this - he'd have been enormously gratified.

Thankfully, my kids don't understand why I get so emotional about this - they take for granted that a black guy winning should be no big deal. I think that's great - that we've come far enough that it's not an issue to them. To me, it still is, and something to be deeply thankful for.

On to November!

Wow! That did give me goosebumps.
August 28th can't come soon enough.

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. Thomas .Jefferson

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Thomas Jefferson.

Every generation needs a new revolution. Thomas Jefferson.

Amazing

I got chills when I read your post. Beautifully written and very thought provoking. I, too, felt a lightness and happiness after Tuesday night when it finally became obvious that Obama would be our nominee. As a white woman, I don't presume that my experience is the same as yours, but I do share the same feelings about watching Barack Obama rise up in the Democratic party. And I know his speech both at the convention when he accepts the nomination, and in January, when he takes the oath of office, will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can't wait!

Malcolm, I registered just so I could say thank you for the eloquent post. A lot of us, of all colors, have been waiting for this moment. Thank you for expressing it so well.

That is a very beautiful post, and it takes me back to the early days of this campaign when I thought what it would mean to the black community to have Obama elected president, and what it would mean to all Americans. His task now is to reassure the many white voters who have come to have doubts about his racial attitudes. Michelle's comments and writings didn't help. Passages in his books don't help. Saying that Hillary belittled Martin Luther King didn't help. Implying that the Clintons are racists didn't help. Standing by Jeremiah Wright by saying that his own grandmother made racist comments too didn't help. Calling her a typical white person didn't help. His campaign surrogates suggesting that working class whites will never vote for a black man didn't help. He has his work cut out for him. If he does it right, it will be a very beautiful thing.

Otto, this one's for you.

http://www.bekool.ca/

That was pretty low of Otto F to troll such an inspiring post, even considering his usual shenanigans. Still beautifully written Malcolm.