Historic Night

Barack Obama is the newly elected president of the United States of America. I have to say I feel so proud to be an American at this moment. Growing up in a rural farm town in South Georgia, I know first hand of the tensions and divisions that exists between blacks and whites. Since I was born way after the desegregation era, I've always had a hard time understanding the experiences of my parents and grandparents generations. Sometimes, I was ashamed of being white and Southern because of the racist stereotypes that are associated with us.

Today, I feel proud because citizens from all over this country decided that the content of a man's character and not the color of his skin matters (words of Martin Luther King). I feel hope that the old ways of the South will change and that young black children today will have a real role model to follow. Democrat or Republican, having an elected African American President gives so much hope to so many minorities that feel unrepresented in this country.

The face of America is changing. The minorities of today will be the majority in the near future. I'm excited to see President Obama take our country into the 21st century.