Free at LAST - We HAVE Overcome!

In the sixties, folk singers such as Joan Baez sang songs with lyrics such as "We shall overcome some (or one) day..." Who were the "we" and what was being overcome? Generally, it was citizens of the United States progressing to the point of tossing aside injustices in our systems. One of these injustices was widespread racism.

The sixties were a time that was ripe for social change.  President J.F. Kennedy and his gang started the changes, but let us give much credit to LBJ - President Lyndon Baines Johnson - for seeing the reforms through.  There are people alive right now who can remember seeing signs at public places stating "whites only."  Signs such as those were just the minute visible tip of the iceberg of racist practices. 

Because humans change slowly, I truly did not expect to see a black president in my lifetime. I am a baby boomer who knows where she was when JFK was assassinated, saw the landing on the moon in real time, and have witnessed MUCH technological innovation. Still, I was pessimistic about the nature of bigots and voting.

I am SO GLAD that I was wrong! At least in one area, our country is "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free" of a glass ceiling for persons of color in the White House. We have overcome some bigotry and I look forward to witnessing more prejudices falling by the wayside.

Photo and text copyright 2009 Maren E. Morgan