Tuesday, November 4, 2008 will be one of those moments in my life that I will remeber exactly where I was and what I was doing when the announcement came that Barack Obama had won the President of the United States. As I sat in my living room with tears rolling down my face, I reflected on the long road that this country had traveled to bring us to this joyous occasion. I know that my Asian daughter and the two African American sons of my dear friends will never experience the world as I have due to this historic moment. And around the world, people are seeing a new face of America, one that is more tolerant and more just. Mr. Obama's victory is momentous for the opportunity it presents to put this country on a new and better path, imbued, as Obama said Tuesday night, "with a new spirit of patriotism, service and responsibility."
As the same time, I know that this victory does not put an end to overt hate and racism. We saw much of this throughout the campaign and will continue to see this hostility as President Elect Obama becomes President Obama. In addition, as wonderful and profound as this moment is, I also experienced great sadness that Proposition 8 in California, supporting marriage equality, did not pass. There is still much work to be done as we look ahead to tomorrow. But for now, I want to celebrate and relish in this historic moment and pledge myself and this organization to work with President Obama for a better tomorrow, both in the USA and the world. For none of us will ever be truly free untill all of us are free.
Dr. Andrea C. Kandel
Executive Director
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