Tomorrow Barack Hussein Obama will take the oath of office on the West side of the Capitol, often called the "Temple of Freedom," which was built by enslaved people. The 19 foot high Statue of Freedom on top of the Capitol was forged in bronze by Philip Reid when he was still a slave, but hoisted on top of the Capitol dome after he had been freed in 1862 by the Emancipation Proclamation.
Today is the official day of celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, a day after delivering his last speech: "I've Been to the Mountaintop." Today I listened to Justin James Gietschier, a fifth grader, deliver that speech with surprising passion to an audience of several hundred at our local MLK celebration lunch. We rose to our feet and wildly applauded his oratory. Justin wants to become a baseball player and a preacher! He has dreams because of Dr. King. He has dreams because of Barack Obama. He didn't know it, but he has dreams because of Joseph McNeil.
A special civil rights award was given today to Joseph McNeil. He told the story of driving around the back roads of North Carolina with his father delivering auto parts. Back then in the 1950s, he was acutely aware that in addition to being required to eat in separate restaurants, use different toilets, and drink from separate water fountains, Mr. McNeil and his father could be lynched.
When he was seventeen years old, Joseph McNeil enrolled in North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, an historically Black college in Greensboro. During his freshman year, he and three of his friends engaged in an act of defiance: they sat at the lunch counter of the local Woolworth's and ordered apple pie and coffee. They weren't served that day. Their act of defiance continued. The next day 25 students entered the Woolworth's and went to the lunch counter. They weren't served. By day four there were 125 students, and within days, there were boycotts of Woolworth's across the south.
The Greensboro Four began their acts of defiance on February 1, 1960.
An interview with Joseph McNeil can be seen and read here.
Mr. McNeil went on to the Air Force where he helped diversify the American military.
These acts of defiance were done without ever believing that anything other than arrest would result. So the thankfulness and joy that infused Mr. McNeil's acceptance speech today was felt throughout the room. We all sat there--men and women of good will, of all colors, ages, nationalities--rejoicing in a hope that American democracy might be revitalized under the leadership of President Obama. If his presidency is anything like his political campaign, he might once again bring out the best in Americans. Barack Obama is showing us what we might be if we engage in civic life, something beyond shopping and passively watching television.
CNN posted an interesting poll today. 69% of African Americans polled believe that Dr. King's dream has been fulfilled. That number is astounding, and reflects the great hope and pride Obama's election has brought. Whites are not so optimistic. Only 46% of whites who were polled agreed.
That made me optimistic. I believe the difference in the polling is the recognition whites have that indeed America remains a racist country, that too many opportunities are available based on race, and more importantly, a recognition by whites of the racist feelings we might still harbor.
It's only when we feel vulnerable that we are capable of seeing ourselves for who we are--flawed and fragile--and not who we think we are.
This is our moment when most everyone feels vulnerable to uncertainty, financial chaos, and the potential for war. This is our time to be defiant: to face our history, to face our worst so that we can become our best.
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