Race in the United States

One hundred years ago, an African-American man could not be invited to the White House without inciting near riots.

Fifty years ago an African-American could not sit at the same lunch counter or drink at the same water fountain as a white person.

Yesterday, the United States for the first time elected an African-American to serve as President of the United States.

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed the dream that "one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal"...that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Whoever one supported in the election, this is an historic occasion. It neither erases our past history of slavery and its aftermath nor means that there is no longer any racism in this country. It does, however, signal hope for the attainment of Dr. King's vision for the future of our country.