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Monday, November 10, 2008

Change has come

...................................Barack Obama.................Martin Luther King Jr.





This poem was inspired by Barack Obama' election Campaign and his subsequent election as President of the United States of America, which represented the only time in history when all people came together as one, forget their differences and just celebrated with no prejudice.

Walking amidst the dark allies of the pass, their darkness concealing my complexion, Afraid to look up for fear, that the white of my eyes will betray my place of safety; Afraid of being discovered; making me vulnerable and a victim of those who fear the things that they don’t know or understand.

Yesterday we could have, today we did, tomorrow we must continue to be the people who are free to love each other regardless.

Yeah, and then the son shown through and presented himself as a champion of justice, peace and love, Wiping away the mentality that allow injustice to divides us, prejudice to separate us and intolerance to motivate actions that hurts feelings, minds, and take life: a prejudice that cause its victims to suffer as well as the aggressor.

Yesterday we could have, today we did, tomorrow we must continue to be the people who are free to love each other regardless.

Then came a better day, a day of discovery, a day that illuminated the dark allies of the pass and there I discovered that it mattered not that we looked different, that the shades of our skin, the contours of out faces, the colors of our eyes and our physical features are not the same,

Change have come, Yesterday we could have, today we did, tomorrow we must continue to be the people who are free to love each other regardless.

We have come a long way; we were taught to look beyond our physical composition and peer into the each others souls and examine the content of the hearts and the quality of your character. Today we walk hand in hand constructing the future with bricks of peace, timbers of tolerance, columns of Joy, all supported on a foundation of love; love must be the basis of our existence.

Change have come, yesterday we could have but yesterday have long gone and cannot be change, today we did, the efforts of today charts the courses of tomorrow; for tomorrow we must continue to be the people who are free to love each other regardless.

2 comments:

  1. poignant reading.............. The Perfect Inaugural Ball



    Can you imagine this Inaugural Ball for our President elect? It is a most

    appropriate guest list that includes a lot of those who paved the way. Check it

    out ...........



    Guests began arriving early. There are no place cards and no name tags. Everyone

    knows everyone else here. Now, there's a grand foursome - Malcolm X and Betty

    Shabazz sharing laughs with Martin and Coretta Scott King. Looks like Hosea

    Williams refused the limo again, keeping it real. And my goodness; is that Rosa

    Parks out there on the dance floor with A. Phillip Randolph?



    Seated at a nearby table, Frederick Douglass has a captive audience in W.E.B.

    DuBose and Fannie Lou Hamer, and Medgar Evers has just joined them. Marian

    Anderson was asked to sing tonight, but she only agreed to do it if accompanied

    by Marvin Gaye, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix. And there's Jackie Wilson and Sam

    Cooke, looking like the "playas" that they are. Look, there's Harriet Tubman.

    No one knows how she arrived, but there she is. And my guess is that, when the

    time comes, no one will see her leave.



    There's Jackie Robinson swiftly making his way through the hall as the crowd

    parts like the Red Sea to the unmistakable sound of applause. "Run, Jackie,

    run!" Along the way he is embraced by Jessie Owens. Three beautiful young women

    arrive with their escorts - Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney. Ms. Viola Liuzzo flew

    in from Michigan, exclaiming, "I could not miss this."



    Richard Pryor promised to be on his best behavior. "But I can't make any

    guarantees for Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley," he chuckled. Pearl Bailey made it

    clear to all of them that she's not having it tonight! Joe Louis just faked a

    quick jab to the chin of Jack Johnson, who smiled broadly while slipping it. We

    saw Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole greet Luther Van Dross and James Brown.

    Josh Gibson stopped at Walter Payton's table to say hello.



    I spotted Congressman Adam Clayton Powell of Harlem having a lively political

    discussion with Eldridge Cleaver. Pearl Harbor WW II hero Dorey Miller shared a

    few thoughts with Crispus Attucks, a hero of the Revolutionary War. And there is

    Madam C.J. Walker talking with Marcus Garvey about exporting goods to Africa.



    General Benjamin O. Davis flew into Washington safely with an escort from the

    99th Fighter Squadron - better known as The Tuskegee Airmen. At the table on the

    left are three formidable women - Shirley Chisholm, Sojourner Truth, and Barbara

    Jordan - gathered for a little girl-talk... about world politics.



    As usual, all the science nerds seem to have gathered off in a corner, talking

    shop. There's Granville T. Woods and Lewis Latimer needling each other about

    whose inventions are better. Someone jokingly asked Benjamin Banneker if he had

    needed directions to Washington. And George Washington Carver was overheard

    asking, "What, no peanuts?"



    Dueling bands? Anytime Duke Ellington and Count Basie get together, you know the

    place will be jumping. Tonight is special, of course, so we have Miles, Dizzy,

    and Satchmo sitting in on trumpet, with Coltrane, Cannonball, and Bird on sax.

    Everyone's attention is directed to the dance floor where Bill "Bojangles"

    Robinson is tap dancing. Right beside him is Sammy Davis Jr., doing his

    Bojangles routine. And behind his back, Gregory Hines is imitating them both.

    Applause and laughter abound! The Hollywood contingency has just arrived from

    the Coast. Led by filmmaker Oscar Micheau, Paul Robeson, Canada Lee, and Hattie

    McDaniel, they find their way to their tables. Dorothy Dandridge, looking

    exquisite in gold lamé, is seen signaling to her husband, Harold Nicholas, who

    is standing on the floor with brother Fayard watching Gregory Hines dance. "Hold

    me back," quips Harold, "before I show that youngster how it's done." Much

    laughter! Then a sudden hush comes

    over the room. The guests of honor have arrived.



    The President and Mrs. Obama looked out across the enormous ballroom at all the

    historic faces. Very many smiles, precious few dry eyes.

    Someone shouted out, "You did it! You did it!" And Obama replied, "No sir, you

    did it; you all - each and every one of you - did it. Your guidance and

    encouragement; your hard work and perseverance..." Obama paused, perhaps holding

    back a tear.



    "I look at your faces - your beautiful faces - and I am reminded that The White

    House was built by faces that looked just like yours. On October 3, 1792, the

    cornerstone of the White House was laid, and the foundations and main residence

    of The White House were built mostly by both enslaved and free African Americans

    and paid Europeans. In fact, most of the other construction work was performed

    by immigrants, many of whom had not yet become citizens. Much of the brick and

    plaster work was performed by Irish and Italian immigrants. The sandstone walls

    were built by Scottish immigrants. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that

    The White House is, ultimately, The People's House, with each President serving

    as its steward. Since 1792 The People have trimmed its hedges, mowed its lawn,

    stood guard at the gate, cooked meals in the kitchen, and scrubbed its toilet

    bowls. But 216 years later, The People are taking it back!



    "Today, Michelle and I usher in a new era. But while we and our family look

    toward the future with so much hope, we know that we must also acknowledge fully

    this milestone in our journey. We want to thank each and every one of you for

    all you have done to make this day possible. I stand here before you, humbled

    and in awe of your accomplishments and sacrifice, and I will dedicate my

    Presidency, in your honor, to the principles of peace, liberty and freedom.



    If it ever appears that I'm forgetting that, I know I can count on you to remind

    me." Then he pointed to me near the stage... "Ricky Toye, isn't it time for you

    to wake up for work? Isn't it time for all of us to wake up and get to work?"



    Suddenly I awake and sit up in bed with a knowing smile. My wife stirs and

    sleepily asks if I'm OK. "I've never been better," I replied, "Never better.

    It's gonna be a good day."



    Congratulations to President Elect Obama and congratulations to the United

    States of America!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for posting that very touching piece, my heart moved within me and I shed a silent tear. Thanks again.

    Form: the administrator (Crushing Fools)

    ReplyDelete