Progressive Revival

45 Years Later: Still Holding Our Applause

Thursday August 28, 2008

Talk about an improbable historic coincidence:  that Barack Obama's acceptance of the Democratic Party's nomination for president comes 45 years to the day after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

 

But thank goodness this is not the blog where blind optimists gather. No one here is naïve enough to think that the election of Obama would mean the disappearance of racism or racial disparity. This is not the blog where blind opitimist gather who think that legal instruments set in place over 40 years ago to ease class, gender, and racial disparities in society, like affirmative action and the Civil Rights Act, would become outdated with a black man sitting in the White House.

Thank goodness everyone here knows that while our society has come a long way in these 45 years since Dr. King's speech,  race hatred still exists in this country and the gulf between rich and poor is ever widening.  And that Progressives still have a long way to go before we can relax, pat ourselves on our backs and congratulate ourselves for not being, well, whatever it is that is the opposite of a Progressive.

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Comments
Paul, seeking...
August 29, 2008 2:53 PM

Maybe the bigots will pack up and leave for darker pastures. I am a white, Anglo Saxon Protestant that has lived for the day that a Black American could run for President. if fact, I would be happy if a Jew, Latino or woman would be able to say the same.

Come top think of it, We did have a woman, a Hispanic and a Catholic run at the same time, didn't we. The very Idea that we have come so far is a testament as to the "Dream" of Martin Luther King.

The Angels in Heaven are rejoicing that this day has come when the majority of Americans (3 to 1) think we have finally grown up.

America for all Americans! Long live the process!

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About Progressive Revival

Diana Butler Bass and Paul Raushenbush both stand firmly within the Mainline Protestant tradition and, along with guest bloggers of all religious backgrounds are dedicated to the revival of religious progressivism and its influence in American politics.

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Diana Butler Bass
Diana Butler Bass is a commentator and scholar in American religion. She is the author of seven books including A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009).
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Paul Raushenbush
Moderator of the Progressive Revival blog and the Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University.
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