A Change Done Come…

Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States. For the first time in United States history, an African-American became the nominee for President of either political party. After 54 primary and caucus contests, Obama has performed the impossible. He has beaten the Clintonian machine of name recognition, money and party support. He has run one of most efficient campaigns in modern history. The first term Senator from Chicago defied all expectations by earning and keeping a sizable delegate lead in the weeks after Super Tuesday. They said he was too young, too inexperienced in Washington and most of all he was going against the Clinton brand. But with his campaign theme of “Change,” Obama has galvanized Democrats across the country as voters came to the polls in record numbers to support his campaign.

As I watched the television at home last night, I reflected to some of the things that my parents always told me. “You can be anything you want to be.”It was encouragement beyond their sights and realistic expectations. It was historic. It was moving. It was also hard to believe.
With his splendid debonair demeanor before a crowd of 21,000 supporters in St. Paul Minnesota, Obama said, ”You decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States."

This moment was not just Obama’s, but it was a moment of black pride and national pride. This moment was one that the entire world watched. To now say that a black man has a better than 50-50 shot at the Presidency is something that many of us would never believe would happen in our lifetimes. This is the type of moment for those who have passed on, but left us with the hope of possibility of a better America. This is a moment for those who could see very little beyond their individual black experiences. This is the second part of faith called the evidence of things not seen. It is the kind of unseen evidence that urged our ancestors to continue forward without any resolution in sight that would change the hearts and minds of those who didn’t want to change.

Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, Shirley Chisholm, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King all had seen an America in a very conflicted light. The all saw the very worst that America was giving while at the same time seeing the very best of America’s hope and promise.

Obama’s meteoric ascension though historic, is not complete. He is only the Democratic nominee. From now until the election, his status as the nominee will present a constant litmus test for the country to move towards its best promise.

As well, Senator Hillary Clinton has left mark on the presidential trail as the first viable woman candidate. Thankfully she has decided to knock at the door of party unity and has decided to fully support the election of Senator Obama as President of the United States in November.

While there is a lot work to be done to repair the strain that has exited between the Obama and Clinton camps, one thing is truly obvious, America has taken a giant step forward in the quest for change. Race still matters in America. Its legacy and horror of the treatment of citizens that are people of color has never been reconciled. America’s movement towards change has come at a marathon pace. But if America continues its quest to cross the finish line and not surrender to fatigue halfway into the race, then a change done truly come.

I’m reminded of my grandmother’s wisdom of why she felt that tomorrow always presented new possibilities. She reminded me of her faith in God and His promise. She said that He is a man that cannot lie. That what man meant for evil, God meant for good. She also reminded me that when the greater good presents a challenge we must be quick to embrace that good. For the longer we ponder the consequence of good change, the likely the possibility of losing the race for good change. Grandma Ola would say, “ I’m running this race trying to see what the end ‘gone bring. I’m going on ninety-nine trying to make a hundred.”

She would turn on her old radio to hear the late great Sam Cooke. As I watched her descend into her rocking chair, she would throw her head back slowly to the methodical mood of Cooke’s voice. She would lose herself from the drudgery and the dread of being a black woman in Mississippi. As I watch her close her eyes, I know she has gone to a different place that only her imagination can take her to. She may not get there, but she knows that time is on her side. Grandma said “Time changes everything…It can heal old wounds.”

I can hear her distinct off key voice clearly as she sings over Cooke’s voice….

I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
‘Cause I don't know what's out there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will
And then I go to see my brother And I ask him to help me please
And he just winds up knockin’ me Back down on my knees

There were times when I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, been a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will

The old heads know what I’m taking about…America is at ninety-nine. Let’s see if she’ll make a hundred…

A change done truly come….

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Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn