Once Upon a Dream

I've always loved telling about my grandma Nelle. Nelle was a teenager when she read the newspaper stories about the Wright Brothers' first flight.

Decades later, I sat with her as we watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. And I've wondered, since, whether I would ever have a story like that.

Well, maybe I do.
____________________

45 years ago, a young white country girl sat in front of a black-and-white TV, mesmerized by the most eloquent speech she had ever heard.

"I have a dream today . . ."
You could still find separate water fountains signed "colored".
"that my four little children . . ."
Many schools were still segregated in fact, if not in theory. Run-down buildings, too few books, rare extra-curricular opportunities.
"will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin . . ."
Sure, women worked outside the home. But more often than not, it was because they couldn't afford not to, and in jobs with no possibility of serious advancement.
"but by the content of their character."
____________________

Last night, forty-five years later: same country girl, different TV, I watched Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination for president. The culmination of a campaign that marked a sea-change in not just American politics, but in America.

Never again can anyone legitimately say that a person of color cannot achieve this.
Never again can anyone legitimately say that a female cannot achieve that.

Those days are gone, and good riddance. Thanks to Dr. King, thanks to Rosa Parks, thanks to the women of Seneca Falls. Thanks to the millions who gave their time, their hearts, and sometimes their lives, to confirm the words of the Declaration of Independence: that all are created equal.
____________________

From Kitty Hawk, to the moon.
From Jim Crow, to Barack Obama.
A journey of human ingenuity, and a journey of the human soul. Both breathtaking in their scope.

You have to wonder: What marvels will our children see?