I cried today

Today I cried. I cried at the sight of a black man, surrounded by his family, elected to lead our country and the world through very difficult times.

I cried because I remember the black friends I grew up with in my progressive school. I cried because I remember when my mother told me why Mamie, always more a surrogate mother than cleaning lady, couldn't read. I cried because I remember my friend David talking about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. just before he was assassinated. I cried because I remember Robert Kennedy's funeral and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I cried because I thought how happy my father would have been to see this day. I cried because I realize that, while the path is back in view, the process of change is only just beginning.