Obama’s Letter

This is really special. 

A New Beginning

President-Elect Barack Obama.

Today marks a triumphant and historical day in the lives of many Americans and citizens around the world.  Last night, Senator Barack Obama from Illinois clenched the office for the Presidency of the United States of America.  Undoubtedly a major and very emotional experience for many African Americans and people of color, this election cycle has shown us all that the United States is finally displaying the progression that we have so long yearned for.

As I sat and watched the results come in last night one thing that I kept thinking about was this historic, and often ugly, campaign that has plagued us for so many months.  I am glad that the issues of race and gender were brought into US mainstream consciousness.  Hopefully, this often painful display of the incredible discrimination that is still rampant in US culture will help us continue to have those important, everyday conversations that have led us to such a transformational time in our nation’s history.  I anticipate that this will also offer us the opportunity to give sexual minorities the voice that has often been minimized in our political and social systems.  With that I leave you with a very special quote:

“This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.  It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.”         

President-Elect Barack Obama