And He's Allowed Me to Go Up to the Mountain

It's little more than a week until one of the greatest days in history.

Barack Obama's election as President of the United States of America was an event that left me in tears. I wake up some days going, "Is it true, or did I just have a beautiful dream?"

As a Canadian, I was unable to vote. If I were American, I would have done everything I could to help with his campaign. His integrity and character are impeccable; his solutions to the life-threatening problems facing the world are both practical and compassionate. I admire that he first made an impact as a brilliant writer and storyteller. Did you know he is also a Grammy winner?

I would support Obama were he striped, speckled or Martian green. However, there is no denying the healing of racial wounds and the righteous turning of justice that has begun with the appointment of an African-American president.

For those of you for whom images of the 1960's phase of the Civil Rights struggle have faded (or if you are too young to remember), I'd like to recommend a film: Dr. Martin Luther King, A Historical Perspective, released in 2002 by Xenon films. It's available through Amazon and Netflix.

I'd seen these images and heard the speeches before, but viewed right before the Inauguration, it's a stunning reminder of what January 20th will mean to my Black sisters and brothers. To all of us. A balm for the searing pain in our individual and collective souls from the insanity of racism, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And I'm so happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man.
Dr Martin Luther King, Memphis, April 3rd, 1968