When the official announcement flashed across the screen, "President elect Barack Obama", I surprised myself when I burst into tears.  As the weight and significance of the moment's full effect were sinking in, all of the civil rights abuses, racial discrimination and indignities I personally witnessed or been a victim of throughout my life, all came back to mind.

My earliest memory was as a girl of 5, my family; the relatives of my late Great-Uncle Gordon Parks were ushered in through the back door of The Lexington restaurant in St Paul for a party celebrating the release of his Choice of Weapons.  When my mother couldn't explain to me why we couldn't come in the front door, I was quickly hushed when I tried to ask anyone else. 

Flash forward to my 15 year old self. On a trip to the Boundary Waters for camp, our bus stopped at an ice cream shop in Ely, MN.  As I watched everyone get their orders filled and get back on the bus, I was filled with shock, horror, and anger as I realized that I was intentionally not being served. As the last camper was leaving the shop, the last boy taking orders turned around and left the counter.  When the camp counselors realized I was still missing, they came back and got the store manager to serve me.  By that time I didn't want anything to do with their ice cream and left choking down the hatred and tears.

Now, in 2008, as I watch a black man be declared the 44^th President of these United States of America, I realized that although I dared to hope and dream, I never really believed that this day would come in my lifetime.

Thank you God, thank you fellow Americans, and thank you my fellow walking melting pot, Barack Obama, for giving me a moment that will forever be etched in my heart, mind, and spirit.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!