Yes we will

I was starry-eyed. I watched with wide eyes as a man, sizzling with charisma, walked onto the stage at the Democratic convention and made a speech that will live on in American history for eternity. No red states, no blue states, former president Obama said. There’s only the United States!

I blinked back tears, for I knew. I knew I had just been a part of history. I’d just watched a future President of the United States. Millions of us, my friends, knew after that speech, RIGHT after, that Obama would someday be president. It was just a matter of WHEN.

The when came sooner than I’d thought it would. 2008 was a sea of madness. It was a sea of triumph, of swimming against the almost overpowering tides that warned sternly that we did not have a chance. The world will never elect a black man, so many said, condescendingly.

“Yes, we can.” That beautiful bumper sticker — did you have one on YOUR car? This writer did. Yes, we can. Yes we can become a battle cry. It became an expression of love, hope, and determination. And it worked. Obama won the presidency, and our world was transformed.

How I will remember that time! Confetti and screams of joy, so much joy that the stars looked afire with love and hope—the audacity of hope. Now we have Kamala Harris running. And you know what? It’s like the past rising up to meet us.

I say this because SO MANY — so very many — say they haven’t felt this type of energy since 2008, that this campaign feels so similar to the “Yes, we can” campaign of Obama.

Obama opened the door to limitless opportunities. One was having the first black president. Now, we have another opportunity to have the first black FEMALE president. Are the cries of “yes, we can” enveloping you yet? I have a feeling they probably are.

“Yes we can” — and we will. We have SO MUCH on our side. The magic is back. The 2008 magic has come to us — perhaps even brighter. Yes, we can, we did, and we will.