A letter to Barack Obama

Dear Barack Obama:

Tuesday, March 18, 2008, a day that began as an ordinary day soon became quite an eventful day for me, and for millions of others around the country, to jot down onto our respective calendars and memory banks - where were we when you gave your historical nonpartisan speech on race in the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia? That it was just across the street from where the Constitution was created more than 220 years ago did not escape most people.

It was brilliant, extraordinary, moving, and spoke to the heart of why race is still a big issue for this country. Despite the advances of the black community the past several decades, much more needs to be done; not to give blacks a "handout," but to wipe out the divide that not only exists today between blacks and whites, but also to include the Latinos and Asians.

To say that you merely "peeled" away the scab from an old wound that never healed, and sprinkled, no, poured, salt and pepper into the opening, would be a major understatement. It was what the blacks have lived with for centuries and the whites have shoved under the rug and would prefer not to talk about it - "hey, it's not my problem."

That it was centered around the controversial preachings of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, your reverend and "family," seemed to lose their importance the more you spoke; that we were witnessing a speech of equality, opportunity, human dignity, and saying to Americans - "that is where we have been, here is where we are now, and unless we wake up America, we will never ever resolve this issue." Not your exact words, of course, but that is what you were saying to me.

You displayed enormous courage that day in which it would have been much safer politically to denounce and reject Reverend Wright and his comments and teachings. Many political pundits and historians have agreed that in time your speech may join the ranks of those given by Presidents Lincoln, Kennedy, and by Martin Luther King. I've even heard your speech receive approval and admiration from the rabid right wing radio hosts. Unfortunately however, those moments of open mindedness is brief: it takes them just a breath or two to begin to flay away at you for not totally separating yourself from Reverend Wright. So be it.

And that is the point: you spoke to the problems of racial and inequality differences and a need to resolve those issues before we can grow as Americans and heal our country. The need to denounce Reverend Wright pales in comparison.

Equality. Opportunity. Dignity. Courage. Integrity. Leadership. Wake up America. That is what I heard on Tuesday, March 18, 2008. No need for me to mark my calendar. It is firmly and forever etched in my memory.

Peace.

Sincerely,
Larry (last name submitted, withheld).