Yes We Did

Madison Rd., Cincinnati OH, Election Day 2008

On the street where I live in Avondale, the Obama/Biden yard signs are still in place. I don't think it is from neglect or laziness but more a sense of pride and relief . When I went into the polling station I carried with me memories of riding on segregated trains as a young boy to Locust Grove GA, the small town where my parents were born and where I spent blazing hot summers playing with my many cousins. On my first memorable trip, my cousin Wymond admonished me not to drink from the "White" fountain. Later in my life as a member of the United States Air Force, stationed in Montgomery Alabama I was told by the taxi driver that the only way he could transport me and the white Airmen to the base, was if I sat on the floor of the cab, out of sight of those who might object to the integration of his vehicle. I thought about my time at Mildenhall AFB and watching black people being hosed by firefighters and attacked by police dogs as it was broadcast on the TV in the ward where I worked as a medic. I thought about all those who paid the ultimate price by dying for the right to vote and exercise the rights this country promises.Now on January 20th 2009 as Barack Hussein Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States we can embrace the challenges that await us and say again," Yes We Can".