The mountaintop
Let's stop and reflect on this for a second. An African-American nominee. Of our party. The party of inclusion. The party who welcomes all Americans. It was a great night to be a Democrat.
I've seen many of these conventions in my lifetime, and have gotten used to their hokeyness -- the silly hats, three-sided state signs, the bad pop music, the buttons and stickers and people decked out in all manner of get-up.
Democratic conventions are true snapshots of the melting pot in action, with many minorities scattered around the arena. But this year is different, because this year the people of color aren't just out in the audience.
I don't want to rush past this moment too quickly. Yesterday Barack Obama became the first African-American nominee of a major party in history. That is a tremendous accomplishment that I honestly wasn't sure I'd see in my lifetime.
When the images of your youth are of black people being sprayed with hoses and bitten by police dogs and beaten bloody with police batons for just trying to peacefully march...
Democrats have provided nearly all the drama of this campaign season, a long 18-month run, the story of a race between two people to open the door of history. Sadly, a door that could only admit one leader at a time...
Call me a sap, but I was moved to tears as Hillary Clinton stood with her New York delegation yesterday and officially put a stop to the roll-call vote, and moved to nominate Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee.
Many were in tears. The first female candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States officially nominating the first African-American for President of the United States.
"With eyes firmly fixed on the future," she said, "in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let's declare together in one voice right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president!"
As she uttered those words, the convention hall went into a delirious uproar. The applause for Obama's nomination was deafening. No one could hear Pelosi's gavel as it opened a new chapter in American history.
Regardless of what happens from here on out, the world is a different place because this country is a different place today.
I also think it is a better place. The time is right, and we are ready.
As I watched many African-American delegates break down on camera, trying through tears to express their joy and hope for a better America, I realized just how great the Democrats can be.
My heart swelled for the minorities among us. It's so true what Obama said in the early months of his campaign --“Somebody’s gonna turn on that television and say: ‘Man - if he can be president of the United States, then what can I do?’"
So dream big little brown children, dream big.
For all the jokes about Democrats, like the Will Rogers quote -- "I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!" -- we can get it right, we CAN be fearless enough to carve new paths.
I truly feel proud to be a Democrat.
