The election of Barack Obama and his inauguration were tremendous historical moments. They were emotionally moving events for both those who supported him and those who did not. These historical moments affected black Americans, white Americans and all Americans of other ancestry. They were significant for Africans, Europeans and people around the world. Over the last quarter of a century, CORE has insisted from this venue – and from other venues where our voices were not blocked – that the civil rights revolution was a shining success and that the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not a mirage but in fact an expression of prophetic optimism. 

      The civil rights revolution had won a tremendous victory through the efforts of Dr. King and the great leaders of the ‘50s and ‘60s and those who struggled for civil and human rights throughout the decades before. This revolution was one of the greatest and most successful social and political liberations of a people in the history of mankind. It was achieved with relatively little violence and in a relatively short period of time. We pointed out that the critical point in this battle was the passage of the 1964 and 1965 civil rights bills and that the effect and power of those bills were manifested in the ‘70s and ‘80s. We stated that the American people in general were part of this great victory. 

      We, all of us, must accept the fact that we have won the revolution of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Americans must not allow the historical trauma of racism to blind them to this victory. Excessive paranoia on the part of blacks and excessive preoccupation with guilt on the part of whites interferes with the proper realization of the extent of this victory. 

      The victory was achieved before Barack Obama won the Presidency of the United States. His triumph just made that reality more visible.

Roy Innis