This has to be one of the greatest speech since the Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have A Dream" speech and under extreme pressure. The man went beyond the bar and hit a home run.
On April 4th we will observe the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and in many respects African Americans have wondered in the wilderness. We have made progress and we have many leaders but could anyone name the top three items on the Black agenda? Beyond the global issues war, economy, health care, what are the specific unique concerns of Black America? Leadership is critical to cultivating and maintaining unity. In this hour of crisis we are beginning to look to Barack Obama.
He is intimately aware of our problems and he has demonstrated the qualities that activate our faith. It has been said that the single most important contribution that biblical faith can make to human existence is the capacity to transcend given reality. We expect this in church but it is extraordinary in a politician.
Only a couple of hours have passed and across the board Blacks are embracing the message. Jesse Jackson put the speech in perspective for FOX. They seem to have had difficulty grasping the full significance of the moment. In the spirit of reconciliation it is encouraging to know that they had the wisdom to bring Rev. Jackson in to interpret. It is good that we are all reminded of the Jackson campaign within this context. Perhaps we can avoid mistakes of the past if we take a little risk. It is hard to understand how anyone could see this speech and not be moved in a profound way to self examination.
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