
It's official. Our new President is Barack Hussein Obama. I am proud of our country for electing a Black President. We have come so far as a nation. Just 150 years ago, we still had slavery, and were about to enter a terrible war because of it. Just 100 years ago, racism was rampant with Birth of a Nation, the KKK, minstrel shows, lynchings, etc. 50 years ago, segregation was still in full effect in much of the country, especially the South. Whites and "coloreds" were kept apart by Jim Crow laws. 45 years ago, the Civil Rights movement put an end to that. Then, in April 1968, Martin Luther King, who was at the forefront of civil rights, was gunned down in Memphis. Just over 40 years later, we elect, by an electoral landslide, the United States' first African-American President. How far we've come, so fast. I voted for John McCain. Not because he was White. Because I thought he was the best choice for the job. However, now that Obama is President-elect, I fully support him. He will be our President come January 20, 2009. I call on all Americans to stand behind our new President. He has tough times ahead of him. I don't agree with many of his policies, but am still hopeful that he can rise to greatness. Maybe it is time for a real change. Now we get our chance. Let's show the world what America can accomplish when we all work together.