It doesn’t matter where your politics lay, today is unmistakeably historical.  The inaugural address by the first African American president in our history will be replayed as long as there is a United States.  The million plus (two million??) turnout to hear that address even in freezing temperatures bears witness to the gravity of the occasion…did you see any tank tops?

But closer to home, it is also important.  I want to share a story told by CCC’er Dale Johnson about his own journey with minorities.  He didn’t have one.  He didn’t have one, that is, until 1956.  It was only then that he was introduced to a black man for the first time.  Dale was working on a highway project south of Cherryvale, Kansas, and met an African American cement finisher who was also working on the project.  They began a conversation about this and that, and finally the talk came around to the topic of vacation.  Dale, who remembers that he was probably complaining, began to unveil his frustration about his vacation time…trip plans…whatever.  After listening, his new found friend said “I can’t take a vacation.”  Dale was a little confused.  “Don’t you work for the same people I do?  Why can’t you take a vacation?”  He said, “You don’t understand.  I have days off.  But going on vacation somewhere is not an option.  I literally can’t go anywhere.  I’m not welcome in restaurants.  I can’t buy a hotel room for a night.  Where am I going to go?”

Dale implied that it was this first encounter that caused him to face the plight of black Americans.  Then he said this, “Think of how far we’ve come in just 52 years.  Then, a black man wasn’t welcome even in the most common of places, but today an African American man is being inaugurated as President of the United States.  For some, this may seem to have taken too long.  But considering that some nations are still fighting over events that took place in the 1500′s, that is warp speed!  I’m so proud to be an American today.”

Amen and Amen Dale!  Our Founding Fathers meant it when they wrote that all men are created equal, with certain unalienable rights, given to them by their creator.  Every man is worth dying for…black, white, democrat, republican, majority, or minority.